Good evening. Yeah. Can you hear me? Good evening, everybody. Thank you for joining us tonight. Wherever you are across the globe, people hopping online, thank you so much as we just gather around mics and we gather around the word of God, wherever you are, may God bless you and strengthen you. Also, this has gone out as a podcast as well, this evening. This is pressing out into the world of podcasting. So as we record this, wherever you are, whenever you capture this back, we just want to welcome everybody on all them platforms that we use. There are so many out there. I forget sometimes. Thank you so much. You can hear me yeah, all is good. Good evening, we are on Apple Music. We are on Amazon Music We are on I Heart Radio, and all the other platforms Buzzsprout, Spotify, and you will find this there and the title of Reverend podcast. So this is a recording that is going out as well. But there's obviously a live streaming service. We are gathering for Bible study. Wherever you are tonight, I pray that God will strengthen you and bless you. And we are going to be in the book of Acts. Good evening. Good evening, and welcome. Let's gather Come on. May God bless you right now as we just rest in His presence tonight. You are worthy because he saved you and set you free. We are living in very good times we are living in very powerful time. So wherever you are, in this moment, I am just asking you to grab grab a Bible wherever you may be, whether you're online, your listeners through a podcast, or I'm catching everybody online at this moment. Good evening, good evening, I keep repeating myself for the first few minutes, just while everybody is hopping on making sure everybody hears me as we come online. Yes, thank you for joining us. God bless you, too. Thank you, Jesus, hallelujah, we are going to be in a book of Acts. All I have in front of me here is just the Scripture reference in front of us. And I'm going to read the first 18, let's say 19 verses in a few moments. But I just want to look at the word of conversion. And we might look at that word of conversion as salvation. And through the generations of church through the understanding of church, there is a lot of a press and when I mean press, I'm not referring to the media press, I'm referring to the press that is down us down to us I should say that we choose Christ we choose God. And that is where we talk about free will. But the free will that we are looking at in the free world at the Word of God speaks about isn't the free will to choose him. Because there is a word that is not really got studied a lot and looked at a lot is predestination and it's predestined you I've been predestined. So we have a lot of atheists that drop on and listen to this, I'll get a lot of feedback from them. And they, they they put their put their bits and pieces together and they give us what they give us which is fair enough. And we are people ask us why do you believe in what you believe in in the visible God because of faith? Why? Why do you believe in this God because I believe because of the power of faith because of the power of the Holy Spirit because of his word, because the Scripture is very clear. And also we've got to remember in the Scripture, we have poetry, we have history, we have archaeological findings, it's very clear that we have now we have so much historical events that have taken place through the word of God. So the conversion that we are looking at is Paul's conversion. So from Genesis through to Revelation, when people say Do you believe the Bible? Yeah, I believe the Bible, I don't quite understand it, or struggle with certain areas of it, but by the power of the Holy Spirit by the power of the Holy Ghost, he will reveal His word to me, and He will reveal His word to you. So what we are looking at at this, this hour in time, we are looking at a young man called Soul, a very influential man, a very powerful man. He was at Steven stoning. He was the one were the ones that done the stoning of that Holy Spirit fueled man, Steven, when he was stoned, he was standing there watching. He was very instrumental in the setup of that he was involved in that there was a connection with him in that. So as we look at soul, so have you look at the character of soul. First, we understand that he was at the stoning of Stephen. And the Scripture tells us very clear that this man that we are looking at tonight, he is not the character that you would think that God would use. Because the church talks about characters very differently. It doesn't matter what your character is, it doesn't matter what your background is, it doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter if you haven't stepped over the threshold of a church. This is very clear through Scripture and what I have realized through through this lockdown measure for this time, and through everything we've done through podcasting, for the preaching for the teaching for the expository sermonizing for the unpacking of God's word for just staying in one word and looking one thing is very clear. Is that salvation is an up to the human being. So the text that we are in tonight is a very clear text. And it's about Paul, and it's 1819 verses long, that there is no choice, there is no choice. In salvation, we cannot say, Okay, God, you presented yourself to me, I'm not going to choose salvation, I'm going to refuse you. See, when we look at atheism, when we look at agnostics, when we look at evolution, when we look at all this stuff, that's what we say outside of the framework of the Word of God, it isn't really outside the framework of the Word of God, because when you look at the character of Saul, Saul, who became Paul, that great writer of the New Testament, now, when you study the character, this man, he came from good stock, he was an educator, he was well learned, he was high up the system. So this man that we are looking at this moment, is a very interesting man. Because you could say that this, this man did not know and would not and could not believe God. When you bring all this together, you see very clearly through the Scriptures, that God is the one that chooses. So salvation is not a choice of the of the human being. It's very clear that that salvation is given by the God of Israel. So this is really important for anyone, and possibly atheists that may dip into this. And there may be a bit of apologetics and there may be a bit of a backwards and tooing and froing. As apologetics comes out, as there's discussions between Christians and non Christians, ones that are sitting on the fence, ones that clearly call them an atheist says, I don't believe how can that really be. But God chooses God is the one that chooses. Now that can be very difficult, that can be very difficult for a Christian to understand, in a roundabout way, because we have been told for many generations, and for many times, and for many preachers and for many theological sound teaching, that actually when you look at this, when you analyze this, and you unpack this, it is not the human being that calls and chooses God. What it is, is the physical human being the physical Ben suddenly realizes that this Holy God is real. And I did not decide to go to church one morning, I did not decide to follow this Holy God that God's predestination or plan was already in place on your life on my life, you may be just dipping in this live stream, you may be catching what's going on around the area of church at the moment, you may be just feel that there is something in your being where you just want to see what is out there. Well, God has already been laying a foundation in your Spirit, God has always been working in you, God has always been showing you a way for because God is calling you. There is no one on earth that can actually say, when you look at the scripture of free will, free will, isn't the free will to say I am not going to follow Christ, I am not going to be a disciple, I am not going to be a Christian, because that you can never get that you will never find that in Scripture, you will find something very clear that salvation is a gift and salvation is given. The calling is given. The choice has been made by him. So let me put it quite bluntly, there is no choice. There is no choice because he has already made a way for you. He has already called you. But we say yeah, but I've been resisting garden. And I don't believe and I've never been one for church. I'm not interested. Oh yeah, I'm not going I don't believe it rah, rah, rah, all that sort of stuff that goes on, really killing Christians, all this sort of stuff. God is making away God is moving on human beings. God is making a way in lives. It is not the Christian. It is not the human being that decides he am going to follow Jesus. It is the God of Israel, the God that said, let there be light and now was the God of all creation of all heaven on earth. He has chosen you. And even if you're saved at this moment in time, I respect the fact that you may have a mark in your calendar walk with him are very respect you that you may have a marker in your Bible, you may have a marker on your wall wherever you are, you may have a clear understanding that on that day on the second of March 1971 That was the day I decided to follow Jesus well, actually that day is the day your your physical body was alerted to the Holy God of Israel, because God had already been working in you. God had kept things hidden from you. God was working within you and around you on upon you. He started work on you before the very beginning of time. If you want to know about time if you want to know about space. If you want to understand about creation, the universe, you've only got a look in the book of Genesis, you will find everything in creation. So when we look at the Bible, the Bible is a book of history about the Bible is the book of God's Word. The Bible is so powerful poetry, Psalms, everything is in this book, you know, love stories, you know, you've got absolutely everything in this word from Genesis to Revelation. But what the church needs to get a grasp of what the church needs to understand. It wasn't when I went to that great tent revival meeting, that is a human being said, I'm going to follow Jesus. What that was, was a was an instrumental part in my life, where God used that venue, God used his church, God used that that teaching, God used that setting for my human, my physical Ben, for me to be alerted to the supernatural world. But the supernatural world was already on me and within me, and touching me and changing me before my lips even said, I am a Christian, I have decided to follow him. So when we talk about free will, free will, isn't the freewill that the church talks about? Well, you've got a choice to follow him or not what actually, God has already chosen, you got a saved you. And even if you are an atheist, laughing right now, and you are going crackers on the other side of this, this lens to me and calling me whatever you want to call me. There will come a time in many atheists life when Sunday suddenly something happens when your mortality comes into the ring of conversation when your mortality comes into the arena of your life. And suddenly you realize that you are very close to death, death changes the way the human being thinks all the time. We have cars, we have materialism, we have this we have that. We don't even think about God because the human mind is not capable of thinking of a holy God. It is God that comes down and he presents himself to you and to me. Now we see this man this man saw is a very influential, he's a very powerful, he's a young man. He's a he's a man of wisdom. He's a man of great learned. He's a thinker. He's very powerful in the area of life that he's in. But this is about his conversion. So he wasn't thinking about following Jesus Christ. He didn't even know Jesus Christ. He wasn't even sure of God. He wasn't even aware of all this stuff. Yes, he had the learning. Yes, he had the understanding. Yes, there was the knowledge of it on the framework. But what this man was going to do, he was getting letters, he was getting official letters, to actually put the Christians in prison. He wanted to put Christianity behind bars, he wanted to lock down Christianity, I would say this to anyone in leadership, that that the that he's trying to lock down Christianity, you have to be very careful what you say, and the actions that you are trying to implement on to the kingdom of God, because God is a God that will not be mocked, he will not share His glory with anyone. God is a God of love, but he is a God of rough and he is a God of order. And he is a God of justice, and he will get his glory. But when you look at this text, it is a salvation or text. And very clearly we understand that we are not capable of saving ourselves. Let me read these first, let me read these first 19 verses of Acts chapter nine, and it's about souls conversion. So I would present it to the world of church I will present it to the theologians that we do not get a choice whether we follow Christ or not, because you are already chosen. The scripture says very clearly before the world was formed, I knew you before I created the heavens on Earth, I knew you before before. But you will find there are a lot of teachings out there that God has given us the responsibility of God has given us the authority to choose him or to choose Him not. That cannot be the case because a human being is lesser than the God of Israel. So God has to present himself to us. Yes, I understand. A scripture says knock and the door will be open. But God is the one that starts this move because salvation is a gift. So it is given God is not waiting for my lips. He is not waiting for your lips to move and say yes, God. I've decided to go to church today. Yes, God, I decided to let you in. He was already in because he created your inner space. He created your DNA. He created your heartbeat. He knows the hairs on your head. Your hairs on your head are numbered. He knows everything about you. So salvation isn't up to the individual salvation is isn't up to the person. Salvation isn't lying on the strength of the human being to say I have decided to follow him, because you as created you as plucked before the very beginning of time, he knows you, He loves you he sent his Son to die on a cross for you before you even came into existence. Redemption was before the Garden of Eden, because he is the God that redeems so redemption plan was already in place. God already had a plan. And we think to ourselves, Well, why did he create heaven on earth, what it said for his good will and His good pleasure. So when you look at the Garden of Eden, when you look and understand that, we say, well, that was the fall of man that was Adam and Eve they took from the tree of life. Yes, they did. But God created the tree of life, God spoke to them. And he already put that seed he already put that thought pattern he already orchestrated everything he spoke the world into being he spoke, Adam has to be brought Eve into being from Adam's one of his ribs from his side. So we if let's say, like this, if God, let's put it wrong, if God created all that he created, he certainly not going to be blind from what Adam and Eve were about to do. God already knew what was going to happen. He already had a plan. Because Jeremiah 29 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, find that and read that yourself. But here we have a salvation experience coming from God's side, not coming from Sol Sol was on a journey, we are on a journey, every one of us is on a journey. But on this journey, we if a human being really believes, if a human being a theologian, or a believer really has the mindset in saying, I have decided to choose faith, I have decided to actually say, I want to be saved today. That cannot be true, because salvation cannot be lost. If you could lose salvation, the Scripture does not support losing salvation whatsoever. But you will find out there as well, that there are teachings that are trying and trying to press that you could lose your salvation. Well, let me put it like this. If salvation could be lost, I would have not got it in the first place. It is that simple. It is that simple. Because the Scripture says, no one is worthy, but by redemption, and by a salvation, and by justification. And when you bring justification into the arena of conversation, you will find very clearly that there is mercy. And there is favor when you bring all these fundamental points of Christianity to the arena of conversation, you will not find anywhere supporting when you really look at this, that a human being has the power to reject God, because God has already planned God has already spoken everything into being he says the steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord, there is a plan, there is a pathway but what the power of free will is, is do I decide to continue to walk and to live for Him, if you can still be saved and choose to sin. That is the power of free will, the power to live by the Word, or go and be a protocol outside of the word. But you will always find very clearly in the protocol son story, that the protocol son, his father was always waiting for a return. God is always waiting for the return of the protocol. Let me read this is about young soul. And he had no understanding. He had no interest. He was not looking to follow this Jesus, what he was wanting to do, was to take and to wipe out and to push Christianity out of the way. And remember, he has just come from not long ago, he was at the stoning of Stephen, this man. You could say he was a murderer. Maybe he never touched the knife, never. But he was involved. And he was in that area of the stoning of Stephen when the Holy Spirit came down and lifted Steven and lifted him in a glory who was at that place. Saul was watching the stoning of Stephen this holy man that had been called and put in place by God. So you can say that saw our blood on his hands, but saw saw became Paul, one of or should I say the greatest New Testament writer and the writer that we've ever seen. Fact, as you know, there are great thinkers out there. There are learners out there. There are scholars out there. They are thoroughly theologians out there. But there has been only one, Paul, look where Paul has come from very interesting the way Paul writes. He was not looking to follow God He was looking to destroy what he was looking to destroy the church. So salvation was not on his lips, he was not going to revival meeting he was not interested in following God. So let's follow this text through Acts chapter nine from verse one. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest, and he asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that he would find anyone who belonged to the way Christianity Christ following Christ, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from Heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground and he heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? He asked, I am Jesus, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied, now get up and go into the city. And I will tell you what you must do. The men traveling with saw was speechless, and they stood up, they heard the sound, but they did not see anybody saw got up from the ground. But he opened his eyes, but he could see nothing. So he was led by the hand to Damascus, three days he was blind, and he did not eat nor drink anything. In Damascus, there was a disciple named Anna NYAS. The Lord call to him in a vision, and an eye us Yes, Lord, he answered. The Lord told him, go to the house of Judas, on Straight Street, and ask for a man from tortious named Saul, for he is praying in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place hands on him, and restore his sight. Lord Annamaya said, I have heard many reports about this man, and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. This really makes me smile, this is telling and this is painting. And this is bringing a fact real clear fact real clear understanding upon salvation. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said, Anand is go, this man is my chosen instrument, to proclaim My name to the Gentiles and their kings, and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Then Anna nice went to the house and he entered into that house, place his hands on Sony said, Brother saw the Lord Jesus, whom appear to you on the road, as he was coming here has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Paul's eyes, and he could see again, he got up and was baptized. Interesting, he got up and he was baptized. After taking some food, he regained his strength. Now, when you look at this text, it is very clear that even an Annihilus who is a disciple, a follower of the God, of Israel, says to God, hang on a minute God, do you actually know what this this man soul is doing? He is looking for anyone that is calling on your name. He wants to imprison, he wants to put them in prison. He wants to lock them away. And he says he was breathing out murderous threats. So when you look at this, but God said, Here's my chosen instrument, yes, automatically, we might go well hang on a moment. He was called to write an enormous part of the New Testament. Yes, he was called to write the enormous part of the New Testament he is Paul so so why do you persecute me. But what I find absolutely phenomenal and very interesting. But what you find that is so powerful, is that this man saw and if he was to get a Bible, and if he was to follow and look at this story, and and you know, and as you look at this text, I pray that God will reveal so much about salvation because there are so many people in church worried about their salvation. Can I lose my salvation? No. Does scripture support the loss of salvation? No. Does it by by works? Do I get to be more saved? If I work more? No, did can I possibly lose my salvation, it is impossible to lose your salvation. Romans says there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. So when I look at this text very clearly, I find very quickly in quick concession that this is not about a human choosing god, this is about God choosing the human being. And God is choosing human beings now, that have not even been brought via birth into this world, but he knows everything about them, because the power of predestination. So when you study what we see here, this is very, very clear, very clear, you did not choose God, you did not decide to get out one Sunday morning, and you did not decide to drive yourself to a church to a Billy Graham tent mean, you did not decide to come under the sound of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and actually stand at the front. And when the when the bishop, the preacher, the teacher, whoever it was, says, God is telling me that they you got to come down and give your life to Jesus, your life was already in Jesus's hands before your life even came into existence, but what you experience on what we call the altar call, and very interesting, when you look at the study of articles, you will find very clearly that they're not that is that has been brought around by, by a movement, a preacher that brought that into being, you will find very clearly that God calls God gives the Holy Spirit, God makes apostles, God gives the gift of evangelism. God gives the gift of preaching God gives the gift of salvation. So it doesn't matter how much we look at becoming, say, an evangelist approach or a teacher or whatever that may be. God has given you the gift. Now what we have to understand is what is the gift that he has given me, some to be apostles, some to be preachers, some to be teachers, some to be pastors, some to be leaders, some to be hosts, they what is the gift, you cannot go to a theological college, you cannot. You cannot go to a school of ministry, and actually say, I want to be an event evangelist because it looks good. Or it tickles my flesh. I would love to be an evangelist, I want to be a pastor, I tell you what, I'm going to be a pastor. You don't wake up one morning and say, I'm going to be a pastor, the process of being a pastor or a preacher, and the teacher is already ordained before you come into being. Even when you come down to the root of Christianity. You was chosen to be a believer, because he chose you to be a believer. So what happens is we have across the platform of church, across the platform of the world. We have lots of ministries saying Come to us, we will teach you to be An evangelist, we will teach you to be a pastor, we will teach you we will give you gifts. No man cannot give gifts. It is God that gives the gift you cannot buy the gift of evangelism. It doesn't matter how much money you got. It doesn't matter who prays for you. You will not become an evangelist or a pastor or a leader, whoever it may be within the pulpit within the context of church and ministry, unless God has called you to be there. But we find ourselves awash with prophets, we find ourselves awash with evangelists, prophets, evangelists, Pastor, this pastor, that apostle, this apostle, that we have more titles on us than we can ever imagine. But the question and the root, and the brutal fact is, has God called me into this walk with Him, because we have not chosen him. He has chosen us but through education, and through schooling, and through learning and through manipulation. We are seeing now that there are not many true evangelists. There are not many prophets, there are not many godly preachers and teachers, because God gives the gift. You cannot pay five grand for or sorry, I'll use the very common word you cannot pay 5000 10,000 You cannot pay your way and buy your way and get a gift. How dare you say that Pastor Ben, I will clearly tell you have a clear story in the book of the New Testament called about Simon the sorcerer, when he see them to great men of God. Plain hands on them. What did he say? How much will it cost me to have that gift? They said we we don't have enough money you cannot buy? I'm paraphrasing but this is clear. This is scripture. You cannot buy the gift to be a healer. You cannot buy the gift to be a preacher. You cannot buy the gift to be an evangelist. You cannot buy a Simon the sorcerer looked at what the two godly men were doing. And he said, I will give you money. If you show me and teach me you cannot teach it But what you can teach are the basic fundamental points. But what we can't do is clearly say, by the end of this course, you will be a pastor, you will be a leader, but you will only be leading in the context of the natural, physical world. But what we are lacking right now, we are lacking spiritual leaders, not because God has not looked down on us and said, He snatched them out, he's taken them away, what you find is the real word, the real power of God is, is not when I say not as big as you think that's the wrong terminology to put Actually, what I'm trying to say is, you will find that religion is like an onion, it's massive on the outside, but when you peel it back, peel it back, you will find that the 12, the just 12, the disciples were few amongst such a religious order. So you will find that there will be people out there that call them event is called themselves evangelists, you will find there people out there that call themselves preachers, you will call find people out there that call themselves prophets, you will find every name apostles, Apostle, this apostle that, absolutely, you know what, how many times have we seen the biggest title behind someone's name. And before we've said, the title, the end of the service has finished their title is so long, is taken up an hour to actually give them that platform, God God, God says, very clearly just believe it is God that gives the gift to preach. God gives the gift to teach. God gives the gift to evangelize. God gives the gift to the prophets and apostles. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches and works through. So it doesn't matter how much money anyone will pay, to go to a school of ministry, say you cannot pay or you cannot, you can pay an organization. And you can sit and you can get a manual, and you can be shown through scripture. But unless God anoints, it ain't going to happen. You might be able to speak it, you might be able to build up a business model, but you will not be able to get anointed if you are not chosen before the very beginning of time to deliver that message at that time, at that purpose because God chooses his instruments. That is very clear. This is what we see here. And the instruments that God chooses, this gets better. The instruments that God chooses, are not the ones that the church chooses. The instruments that God chooses, are not the ones that religion chooses, God calls who is going to call, he called here, let me start this text off again, Acts chapter nine, verse one, meanwhile, so what was so doing verse one of Acts chapter nine, Paul wasn't singing praises. Paul wasn't having a praise party. He wasn't in the Scripture. He wasn't in the school of ministry. This is what Paul was doing. So I will refer to him because he didn't become Paul until God called him. So at this point, he was known as Saul. Meanwhile, Saul, still breathing out murderous threats. So So God is about to use this man that is breathing out vile accusations, he is breathing out murderous threats, he is bringing in and he wants to imprison the Christians, those that the scripture says those that belong to the wait. So meanwhile, Souls still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, that doesn't line up with what I see across the world, because God will use now the last two Sundays. The last two Sundays God is using unusual people in unusual situations. In unusual times. God is moving in unusual ways. He has always moved in unusual ways. But if I reference again, just one more point, Simon the sorcerer, he said to those that was praying, he said, Give me that gift. I want to I'll give you money. I'm sorry. Don't doesn't matter who you are. You cannot buy the gift of evangelism. You cannot buy the gift with money. You cannot buy the preaching gift. You cannot buy the gift of of being an apostle you cannot buy the gift of being a prophet. You cannot pay to get you might have a certificate and I'm being blunt. I might have a certificate of being ordained into the ministry but am I own deigned because God has ordained me. Am I ordained Am I a gifted preacher because he has gifted me see we can go so far with the natural skill set that we are we have been birthed and we have been given. You can learn certain skills, and you can speak it you can say it you can walk it, but you can't. Yeah, There is so much in this. So salvation is coming upon this young man saw was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples it says, And he asked for letters for the synagogue, leaders in Damascus so that he found anyone who belong to the way anyone that was a believer in Christ whether a man or a woman, he might take them and put them in prison in prison as to Jerusalem, as he near Damascus on his journey. Every human being is on a journey every human being is on a walk is on a walk is on a spiritual walk, as well as a physical walk, but you will find atheism you will find humanism, you will find every area that is against Christ will tell us very clearly that what we see is what there is, atheists will not in come in any alignment with with the Word of God, they will just say this is ridiculous. This is stupid. This How can you believe in an invisible God? How can you believe in this word? So why is there why is there starving? Why are children dying? Why, why? Why they will bring all this sort of stuff, there are answers to them questions. And that is what we call apologetics. There is a way of answering them questions, first scriptures and they can be answered very easily and through the means of Scripture explaining why we have what we have. But you what you will find that any atheist will clearly say that you are absolutely crazy to believe that God said let there be light and there was they are looking for proof. They aren't every way to disprove God. But the more you try to disprove him, the more he reveals himself through situations that God is real. So here we have a very interesting text of a young man that was breathing out murderous threats. Let's remind ourselves He was not interested in going to church and having a praise pi and confessing his sins to the holy God. What he wanted was to take prisoners to Jerusalem, he wanted to execute them. He wanted to put them in prison, whether men or women, he was not interested. And he has just come from the arena of a stoning of a holy, spirit filled young man called Steven, he was at that stone in and the men that done the stone in laid dead coats at the feet of a young man called Soul, he was watching a disciple be stoned to death. But God this is absolutely beyond human understanding. This is really interesting that our former life has no forbearance on whether God calls us or whether he doesn't call us. So when you look very clearly in the physical journey that we have with soul, up until the point he was knocked off of that horse, he was not looking to follow the God of Israel, what he was interested in, was imprisoned, putting those in prison that was followers of the way he was interested in ridiculing them he was interested in in breathing out murderous threats. So this man has blood on his hands, and he is not going to choose this holy God. I love the fact that this scripture is alive and well and before us this hour, because there are many out there on the assumption that we have decided, because we have the power to choose this God and to reject this God we do not there is no way when God causes God calls. And God has called you. You might even you may feel that you're not worthy. No one is worthy of following this Holy God here we have a murderer. We have a we have someone right before our very eyes in the Scripture. That is interesting in putting anyone behind bars. That is a believer. Now let's go a little bit further. So he's on a journey, verse three, if you've got verse three of Acts chapter nine turn there please. As he as he neared Damascus, there are many on a journey like Saul right now. Atheists, those that will not have it. Those that are laughing at this live stream. Those that pull me to pieces over what I say those that send me them beautiful messages. What they do, let me tell you this, you may be throwing your toys out the pram, you may be kicking the screen right now, you may be going absolutely crazy. You have no power to reject the living Christ. No one on this earth has the power to reject The Holy God, because no human being has the strength on their lips, or within their framework or within their physical being, to reject or to choose, holy God. He has chosen you now, but what we have found in the church in the West, that has been placed upon our shoulders, that we need to go to church, but let me tell you, this church is full of dogma. Church is full of backbiting, religion, I will use the word I will use a framework, say the kingdom of God, you will not find anyone in the kingdom of God that is a back biter. That is a backstabber that, that you will put you will find in religion, you will find big criteria, and you will find hurdles and you will find benchmarks that are impossible to get what Christ did by coming to the cross of Calvary, he squashed everything of the old law, he pushed that aside, because humanity could not live up to this requirement through the old Torah for that for the law. So what Christ did, he says, Now, in Romans chapter eight, verse one, there is now no condemnation, that for those that are in Christ Jesus, For what the law was powerless to do, God send his one and only Son to die upon the cross, by marking peace upon that cross with the blood of Christ. So salvation is not a choice, I will probably enter into the arena in the next few hours for your moments for the rest of my life talking about salvation, because salvation has been presented to me very different over lockdown, that it is not the power of the preacher. It is not the power of the human being to say, Today I decided to follow him on going to church today, I'm going to repent the sins that we have committed, we're already now to the cross of Calvary, before the sins of our lives have been committed. But what is the requirement as a believer is to say, Father, forgive me, for I have sinned and fallen short of your glory, you have already been forgiven, because of the power of the blood of Christ, you have already been saved because of the power of the gift of salvation. You cannot, you cannot there is no human being on earth that can resist this Holy God, there is no one that can resist the power of His Word. No one can resist, resist the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God gives it it is given over and I can hear the laughs I can hear the hyenas, I can hear the mutilated the flesh, I can hear certain theologians, I can hear someone's I've discussions with actually discussing this with me, you cannot lose your salvation. Let's clearly sound there is no scripture to support the loss of salvation. If salvation could be taken, it would not have been given if salvation could be lost, I wouldn't have even got to the to the edge of getting it, I would have never had it. Because it is impossible to live to a standard as a human being, and live in a way that as I live, and as I go by what works is not a means of getting salvation. It is impossible. It says in verse three, this is really interesting, because it says as he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from Heaven flashed around him. See, God was already working in his life before he even realized what was happening. He says he fell to the ground and he heard a voice say to him, so So why do you persecute me? Hang on a minute, God, I got to pose you here a minute. What I'm clearly getting from scripture that Saul was going to the synagogues getting a letter. And that letter was going to be presented to the authorities from the authorities, that anyone that's that said, or they they confess with their mouth. I am a believer, I belong to the way that's what it was called. And we've we changed it into Christianity. If he says if I find anyone that belongs to the way that is anyone that was a follower of Christ, he was going to put them in prison. So let's get down to the grind the grass roots of this let's get down to the guts of this. So he was not interested in salvation. He was not interested in going to church. He was not interested in being saved. He was not what do you want me to do was to show the very clearly that Christianity those are belong to the way he was able to wipe that out of the face of the earth. But what he didn't realize that Christ and God is before anyone, and God is before you, and God is before me. So what he says here, he says, so So why do you persecute me? Well, Saul wasn't actually persecuting Christ. He wasn't persecuting God in the future. is the call because what do you want it was to get the physical person and put that physical person in that prison cell. But what he wasn't realizing that as a believer, as persecution, comments as hearts come, as as the world afflicts us as believers, firstly, it offends and it affects God, because this is what Jesus says, so So why do you persecute me? There was not a believer in sight on this path. But God Christ, He says, Who are you Lord? Saul said, Who are you Lord saw last, and what he God's say, gone through his voice, through the day it for the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. This is what it says in verse five, he says, I am Jesus, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, replied, now get up now very clear instruction is given. But he says this, I am Jesus. Now further into the text, when you look at this conversion from being a murderous, threatening, influential, great thinker, atheists, not interested in church, not bothered about going to church, he suddenly becomes converted from what he was coming at, suddenly, he finds he has been chosen to be one that was going to be absolutely one of the greatest writers on Earth. And that we see in the New Testament, so let me present this back to you again, whoever you are, and I respect all of you. I would lay this at your table tonight. Whether you are an atheist, whether you are a believer, if you are a Catholic, if you are a Church of England, a Pentecostal, whatever, whatever you are, and where are you are from, I would lay this on your table tonight. And I would say this, you have an eye on talking to me first, this is for me. In no time in my life, would I be able to reject this Holy God, if I was able to reject this Holy God, I will be able to reject Him. Because I would have been like Saul, Saul could not reject Him. So had no power to reject him. What saw had was an unbelievable experience with Christ and the Holy Spirit. So what we find further on in the text, that he could not even refuse the Holy Spirit. Because now, you will not find the scriptures supporting that a human being can actually say, I am not going to follow him. We may say, I am not going to church, we may say I am not going to be a church goer, I am not going to be a religious fruitcake, I am not going to be one of them. That there they are talking about dogma. There is heresy. I am not I understand why atheist and non church folk on the outside say that about I get what you are saying, because I ain't going to go that road. I am going down the road of faith. I am going down a road of the kingdom of God, I belong to the kingdom of God, the king's domain, I don't belong to run a religious cult. I don't belong to a religious setting. I belong to the body of Christ and the body of Christ is there is the place where Christ is the head of the church. There is a difference between the church of the living Christ and the church that has been set up in this nation, by the hand of man, by the King, the crazy King that set up the Church of England, the Church of England, Catholicism, the Pentecostal movement, whatever movement we want to call has been set up and placed to a degree and set up by the workings of human beings. And I'm not saying God is not working in the workings of human beings, but what I am saying very clearly his salvation cannot be resisted. It cannot be it cannot be, you are saved, not because you are deciding not to go to be saved, because salvation is different to go into church. Salvation is different to religion, salvation and justification, and, and sanctification and anointing. You will find can only come from the kingdom of God, as you follow. And as you look at this young man, we have this young man that was not interesting and not interested and not bothered about becoming a believer. He wanted to raise Christianity. He wanted to raise anything on anyone to that point of he was going to imprison them. Remind yourself earlier in the book of Acts, that this same man stood at that stone in place of soul. Sorry, of Steven Saul was standing there correct correction there, saw was standing in his place, looking at Steven being stoned. And the scripture says, the young men laid their coat their young men laid everything at the feet of a young man named Saul. This man was at the stoning of a believer. Did God reject him? No. Did God push him aside? No. Did God use him? Yes. It doesn't matter what our past has been. It doesn't matter how vile I have been. It doesn't matter what my past and my historical life was. Because the sin of the world was now to the crosser. Calvary, souls, sin, souls, murderous threats, sows, accusations, sores, anger, souls, disappointment, everything about soul was now at the cross of Calvary, because that's where salvation is. Christ said It is finished. There is no power with any human being, to decide to become a believer. This can flow quite a confusing word and message into the area of church. You did not decide to be a believer, but what you did decide what you did decide that day, when you got your diary and I'm not disrespecting any altar call. I'm not disrespecting any time in your life. When you said on the second of March 1971, I became a believer in Christ, you actually became a believer, long before that you became Washington, his blood you became and your sins and my sins were now on the cross a Calvary, over 2000 years ago, before we came into physical existence. So it doesn't matter how I lived, because we are looking at a story of one that was at a murderous place. He was a nasty character. He was breathing out murderous threats, but God had arrested him on the Damascus Damascus road at God's time, on his journey. When God said now so now, Ben, now whoever you are, what happens is your physical you is taken off that horse, that horse of life because he was riding on a horse, he was knocked off his horse. And isn't it interesting that he was put to the ground. And he was blinded. He was knocked down, he was taken out. See, God will knock anyone down. God will speak to who is going to speak. This is quite a hard hitting text, it clearly tells us that you cannot choose salvation. There are so many scriptures that we can and we will, and over the next few weeks support what we are looking at. But this is a very clear foundation that we have a young man that was an educator was a great man of thinking great men of learning, great understood, life, culture, society, very well esteemed in the world of what he come from. But God had a plan for Him. Christ had a plan for him. But his plan wasn't to be saved. His plan wasn't a conversion plan. So when you look at this, this is so strong, to support the fact that God chooses and in God's time and in your journey, and in my journey, I will know that my Redeemer lives. So the human being suddenly decides on this day, my physical Ben suddenly realizes, Yes, God, you are real. Not Yes, God, I will let you in. But yes, God, I realize you are real. You are holy, and you called me. So it wasn't the altar call. It wasn't my choice. It was his choice. There are many people that have been saved. You've not even gone into church. There are many people that have been snatched out of other world religions that are saved that I've not even heard of Jesus. This is one. This is one that we are looking at. And it says, Let me just read it back into this text, you know? And it says, very clearly, verse 18, immediately Saint like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again, he got up and he was baptized. Who was it that baptized him? Who was it that failed him? Who was it spoke to him? Who was it that gave instruction to an alias? And an is go to that house on Straight Street, and pray for your brother, pray for this one. But Anna NYAS, a disciple of God of Christ, actually said to God, God, did you know what he was doing? What did God say to Anand is, go. See, in every believer, in every one of us, we will look at a person very clearly and be very judgmental, and very critic. And we can be very critical in the way that we look. And as we judge people, and a nice is a clear man to say about this. Because what he heard about soul, what he thought about soul was going to get him almost a stop to go and pray. But God gave an alias a clear instruction, go and pray for him. Now, I want to back up a little bit before we bring us to a close in verse 17. It says, Then analyze went to the house, he entered into placed hands on soul. He said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, when you was coming here has sent me so that you may see again, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. God uses the instrument of the human being, to get his will, and his purpose done. See, God used an alias to pray. But it was God and it was Christ that gave the anointing and that gave the Holy Spirit to Soul. It is not the power of the evangelist. It is not the power of the human preacher. It is not the power of the one that calls themselves the Prophet evangelist. It is not the one that thinks that they are in the fivefold ministry. It is God God chooses, God chooses how can you say that? Well, in the Scripture, it says very clearly, that God said, soul is my chosen instrument. You are God's chosen instrument. You are God's chosen daughter, you are God's chosen son, you are God's chosen and he loves you beyond your human understanding. But my life before, before I realized I was saved my life before my lips moved and said, Thank you, God, my life did not reflect my life did not look nice. My life was not nice. But Christ did not hold that against me. Christ did not hold that against Saul. Christ did not reject Saul. But what Christ did what Jesus did, he embraced him, and he used him to get his great works done. See, God is using unusual people in unusual times, through unusual situations, to get his work done. And God is using the instrument, he is using the person that we would never choose. Let me let me try and bring this to some form of a pause for just for a few hours. So there is no support. And there is no foundation where we can say that as a human being, I have the strength within my physical me to actually I'm going to go to church on Sunday, the 28th of January, and I am going to decide to follow Jesus. What that it really is, is God is calling me to his house to get into his house. And I might not even get into his house, I might be on a Damascus Road experience where there might not be a church around me I might be laying in my bed at work wherever I am. But suddenly out of nowhere, I feel this unusual experience in my inner being because the Holy God of Israel is calling. There is no way a human being can say I am not going to be saved. I am not going to be a believer, because God is the one that is calling There is so much to get from this, he loves you unconditionally. He loves me unconditionally. But I have to say it through the generations and through the rubbish that we have seen for religion, the rubbish that we've seen through church over the number of years, and I'm taking that please, I'm not being blase. I'm not being flippant, but you know exactly what I mean, in the depth of our heart, we know very clearly, very clearly, that we know that we were saved, we know that we are blessed, we know that. But what we got to make sure is, is that we are really seeking him now. When the scripture says Come to me, all of you were in heaven and I will give you rest and it says the cannot Can you will find knock on a door will be open. But before all that can happen. There is a move and God presents himself to the human being. God has already done the let's say the legwork. God has already done the foundational work it has already been done. But what actually happens, you will find very clearly on another Tues journey, on the Emmaus road, the two that was walking with Christ, when Christ have revealed Himself to them, it says that the Christ very, very clearly he walked with two men. And as they was going on their journey again, he he stopped the two men realizing who he was. So there is a time when you will have a journey or a human being has a journey, and they are walking with Christ, but they don't realize they're walking with Christ, until Christ reveals Himself to them. He kept himself from being revealed to them to the correct time, but what you will find in the reference the biblical reference about them to men that was on the a mass road, it says that their hearts were beating. So God was already doing sank in their hearts God was already forming, God was already moving, but the naturalize the natural ability. Look at soul saw here, his sight was blinded. He was blinded the two men on the amass road was walking with Christ, but they didn't realize it was Christ, see Christ for whole back, everything within the theological framework within the word of salvation, He will hold all that back until the opportune time, that we are ready in the timeline of our life to realize Hang on, he's real. Your Redeemer has already redeemed you, your Redeemer already redeemed you you're already redeemed before you even became you wasn't law wasn't even lost, because I was already found before I was lost. When you when you bring all this stuff together. Salvation is not a choice, salvation is a gift salvation is given. You will not find any scripture supporting through the word of God that you can lose it. There's so much to get get from what we are looking at. So the two on the Emmaus wrote, their hearts were burning. It says their hearts were jumping. But they didn't know why God was working Christ was walking with them. But he says that they was kept from recognizing him. Until that moment when Christ said, Now salvation is when Christ says now, but the now has already been before the now what we are referring to is when the physical Ben suddenly goes, yes. Oh, yes, he saved me. You are saved. You are saved very simply, not because of the power of you. You are saved because of the power of Christ, my life your life would never reflect. You know, no one is worthy. The scripture says no one is worthy. But what the Scripture clearly says is that you are saved what the Scriptures clearly says, that Christ shows you what the Scripture clearly tells us that salvation is a gift that salvation is given. So when we hear that drum BMB and have the power of free will, the power of free will, is simply do I sin or do I not sin? Do I live outside of the word? Or do I live in the world? Do I choose temptation? Or do I reject temptation? Do I choose do i the power of free will see, when you look at Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane said Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me. But not my will your will be done. So the Father's Will was already placed. The father's instruction has already been given. And there are many protocols coming back to the Father tonight. But I just want to just want to try and emphasize and I just want to make sure that do not worry about your salvation. And what I mean by that not not worry about what I'm trying to say is because a lot of people say I must save them, I save them update. We all think that we've all thought that. But if it was down to that thought, am I am I am I yes, no, yes, no, we will never be saved. Because the human mind the concept, the psychological process, the natural perception of living, does not and cannot, and will never have the capabilities of deciding to go from a natural being to a supernatural being on the choice of a natural being, you can only be calm and you can only be saved because the supernatural God comes down and presents himself and makes his dwelling among us, as John says, And he became flesh and the word made his dwelling among us, he lived in us, he lived with us, the Scripture says, out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. God was in you, God was working with you, God has already dealt with you got it already. Now my sins to the cross a Calvary, before I even committed the sin. It was already now to the cross a Calvary. But we've got to be careful that we don't use this. And we don't take this and manipulate that. And say, Well, this actually has given me an insurance policy to go and live our I want No, no, no, no, no, because of the power of repentance. We haven't even had a chance to talk about repentance, but I'm going to leave you now. I'll catch you soon. May God bless you and God strengthened you. But you don't worry about your salvation, because you are saved. You are saved because he is the one that saved you. Salvation is being saved from See, a human being cannot, cannot decide to wake up one morning and go, I'm going to become a Christian. God is already in you. God had already decided how your DNA was going to be presented to your physical body. God created your brain, God created your thinking and your concept. God creates your logic. God knows your character. God created your character, God, God knows everything about you and about me. He knows all my idiosyncrasies. He knows my failings, my phones will now turn across before that tree was even grown and brought into being Do you know that the cross a Calvary, I'm fascinated with across a Calvary with the physical side of the cross of Calvary, because God planted that seed in the earth. And no one knew what seed that would be. No one knew what tree that would be. No one would know what type of wood that would be. But God's put creation into being. And when he spoke the world into being when he spoke everything that that word that he spoke, as he spoke life, as he spoke vegetation, as he spoke to fish as he spoke life creation, there was and when you narrow it down to the point when God spoke, and then for the power of speech, and for the power of the universe always been being created and moving and quickening, God spoke the cross of Calvary, into being he spoke that physical seed, that seed was planted in the ground, that seed was smaller than that I could see. But God knew that seed and when that seed was planted in the ground, the X amount of years it took for that tree to grow. No one knew around the Earth, no one knew around Jerusalem, no one knew around the surrounding area that that tree growing in that place was going to be the tree and going to be known as the cross a Calvary, that tree was just growing, that tree was just blossoming. But God knew that that tree that he spoke into being was going to be the tree that the carpenter would shape that the Romans would drop into the socket, that tree he knew that that tree was going to be the cross of Calvary that his one and only Son was going to die upon. And that tree was going to carry the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All my goodness, I'm out of it. See, God loves you. God loves you. And he loves me to wherever you are. You cannot choose salvation. Salvation has already chosen you. God loves you. It doesn't matter what your historical life was. Because your historical life was now going across a Calvary, and you are washed in the blood of Jesus, you are a child of the living God. It doesn't matter what the world is doing. Doesn't matter what the governments are doing. It doesn't matter what business is doing. It doesn't matter what the system of the world is doing. Just realize who you are in God. Just realize who you are in Christ. Just realize who you are, and who you are. You are a son, and you are a daughter of the Redeemer. God bless, have a great evening, whatever it may be. We've been here for 57 minutes. And I just want to say thank you to everybody in the world of podcasting that's listening to this right now. May God bless you and strengthen you. Never give up. Never give up God is with you. We will catch you we will catch you again Sunday morning. 1045 in person. Come and join As for worship, come and join us as we gather around the word. Come and just praise God together. And I just pray, whether you're with us on live streaming, whether you're with us through the power of podcast, whether you listen through I Heart Radio, Apple Music, Google Play and all that stuff through Alexa, whatever it may be. Maybe you're listening through bus route right now you capture this Bible, study back. God loves you, wherever you are. Never give up. sleep well tonight, as the scripture says, May your sleep be sweet in Jesus day.