WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.120 With that said, though, turn your Bibles to Galatians chapter 1. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:11.039 We start of Life and Liberty last week, and we're continuing this morning. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:21.039 Paul takes a break from, man, he comes out of the gate and he writes his letter and he comes out, he doesn't pull any punches, he goes right in and he tells them the problem. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:27.039 And he says, I can't believe that you guys would listen or let anything creep into what the gospel is. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:31.519 And then he goes on and he gives his testimony that we're going to see today. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:41.280 This is why Paul could say so uh adamantly that if anyone else speaks of any other gospel, they should be cursed last week. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:46.719 And this is why, because he had a life change that really meant something to him. 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:52.000 And so today's message is entitled, The Greatest Missionary Ever Freed. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:53.119 Let me pray. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:59.039 Father, I pray that you would bless your word this morning and use it. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:04.560 God, um, not one person here came in not needing to meet with you. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:07.040 God, we need a meeting with you. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:12.719 And God, we there's people in the church going through uh so many different things. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:17.599 And so, God, wherever we are in our journey, God, we need a meeting with you. 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:19.120 We need to rest in you. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.519 God, we need encouraged today from your word. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:29.920 So I pray your Holy Spirit, uh, Lord, even as we sung, uh, God, that that the temple was filled with your robe. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:33.840 I was praying, God, that your robe would just touch every piece. 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:36.560 Lord, that everybody here would get a piece. 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.719 And so, God, speak to us. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:41.519 Use your word now in Jesus' name. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:42.480 Amen. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:47.280 In studying this, I was thinking about Paul's change. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:53.040 And I know some of y'all went through teenage life and you went through some great change. 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:56.959 I was thinking about the phases of my style. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.680 How many of y'all remember your style? 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:00.400 Right? 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:06.000 And so bear with me, but my style sort of happened as a teenager through the 90s, okay? 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:15.439 And so I was thinking, I wish I had some pictures, because then you'd really have it on me, but um, one of my styles, it had a lot to do with music, okay? 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:18.560 So one of my styles was called alternative. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:23.120 And so I had in my pocket, this is this is sad, okay. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:30.080 I it became cool to wear a chain from your jeans from a pocket to the back pocket so you could see the chain. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:32.080 So I found me a chain. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:34.159 I don't know where it came from, but I found it. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.719 It was supposed to be a wallet chain, right? 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:42.400 I had no wallet to go with the chain, so I hooked it back in my back pocket and it would swing off every now and then. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:43.599 I'm like, pull it back, right? 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:44.879 Because I gotta look cool. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:56.000 Um, I tried to grow my hair long so that it could be parted down the middle, kind of the skater cup, I don't know if you guys remember that, but I got sort of curly and wavy hair so it would like hump up like a mount. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:00.000 So I I did that for a little quick spell. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:00.800 That was quick. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:02.639 I didn't I didn't stay there long. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:06.000 And then in the 90s I had the hip hop phase. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:07.280 Y'all with me? 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:12.319 Okay, so if you can picture me, I used to keep my hair real short and tight. 00:03:12.479 --> 00:03:16.400 Okay, I could grow facial hair at the age of about 12. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:22.159 I had me a real, you remember the chin strap beard, just real tiny thin, okay? 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:27.759 Hair real short, had baggy pants, had always had white tennis shoes, right? 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:29.039 Had to keep them fresh. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:32.000 I had the Tommy Hill figure, um, shirts. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:39.360 So y'all can picture, and and my style changed and fluctuated with trends. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:48.560 And so I was thinking about all that change, and I want you to understand, I feel drastically different from those days. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:49.759 Are y'all with me? 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:54.159 Adults, don't you feel like so different from your teenage days? 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:59.520 Um, and when I think about that, I was thinking, well, what would I even label a style today? 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.159 I like I think adult comfort. 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:05.280 This is what I call this style, right? 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:08.800 But I feel drastically different. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:18.079 You know, in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, Solomon wrote, To everything there is a season, time, and purpose under heaven. 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:29.439 He's talking about times of change, and he said, There's a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to pluck up what was planted, a time to break down, a time to build up. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:32.720 There is a time for weeping and a time for laughter. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.360 There's a season for everything. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:36.959 But let me tell you something. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:42.000 One of people's biggest fears is that word change. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:44.480 Change scares people. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:51.519 Mark Twain once said this: the only person who likes change is a wet baby. 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:56.879 Change is scary to people. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:01.839 But let me take you to the beginning here with Paul's testimony this morning. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.680 Point one is this the revelation to Paul from Christ. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:07.759 We're gonna see a revelation. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:15.680 I know you're in Galatians, but I need you to take a mark or something and go over to Acts chapter 9, because we're gonna be back and forth between those two. 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:23.920 But the revelation to Paul from Christ, a revelation is a divine disclosure of something not previously seen. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.600 I'd say what happened to Paul was a revelation. 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:37.759 The book of New Testament, in John's New Testament book, he explains the glories of divine mysteries, and it's called revelation. 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:44.319 These were things never before seen, and so uh Paul is given a revelation from Christ. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.839 I want you to look at verse 11 and 12 in Galatians 1, and then we're gonna go back to Acts 9. 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:51.199 It says this. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:06:02.399 Again, he's given his reasoning, he's told them that I cannot understand how you've turned from this gospel, and now he wants to for them to understand why he's so adamant through his testimony. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:08.800 He says, But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.040 This isn't something man made up. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:22.720 For I neither received it from man, he wasn't witness to, he wasn't in school, I wasn't taught it, he says, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:24.160 Well, what does he mean? 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:26.399 Turn to Acts chapter 9. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:28.800 He says, I was given this by revelation. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:34.959 It wasn't a preacher, it wasn't a class I attended, it was a revelation. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:38.560 It was God divinely giving me something. 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:40.720 And so let's look at it. 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:45.040 Letter A this morning is this there's freedom by seeing Christ. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:49.199 Acts 9, verse 3. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:50.240 I want you to see this. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:59.279 As Paul journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:04.480 Then he fell to the ground and he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.680 And he said, Who are you, Lord? 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.279 It says that Saul said that he was blinded. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.000 He had to be blinded to see. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:25.519 Now, I love this moment in Scripture when I see this, and he's walking down this pathway and knowing Paul's background, what we know now, but I feel like this is one of those times. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:30.079 Do you ever think about or wonder what it would have been like to be in heaven? 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:32.800 Do you ever think what it must be like? 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:36.160 And God's in heaven, and there's things that God is doing we don't understand. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:47.519 So this is one of those moments where I wonder if God didn't say, like, hey Moses, hey Elijah, watch what happens when you play my song. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:05.360 Very good. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:11.199 So listen, God made man and God made music, so he gets all the rights to music, right? 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.560 He's the king, so he gets the royalties, I'll say. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:19.759 And so what happened in this moment, he says, here comes light. 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:21.439 And I don't know what that looked like. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:22.079 I know this. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.040 I we said the other week, I know who controls the weather. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:27.759 I literally said that here, and thunder happened. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.120 It was awesome. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:34.799 And so we know this, that this did not happen apart from an intervention of God. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:42.960 And so God shows himself to Saul walking the road to Damascus, and the light hits him, it blinds him. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.200 And I thought about a verse. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:47.200 What happened in this moment? 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:48.399 What was going on? 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.440 Well, 1 Corinthians 1.18 says this. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:53.279 And stick with me, I'm gonna explain. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:09:01.519 It says, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved, it is the power of God. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:10.960 Now, you can believe what you want to in that moment, but I believe maybe Paul was given a glimpse of the cross. 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:17.519 I believe maybe he saw something in that blinding light that he had never thought through before. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:24.559 And I believe because later on Paul says in a verse, I boast in nothing else except the cross of Christ. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:33.679 And so, Paul, I believe, in this moment of blinding light, maybe he got to see the glory of God in the cross. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:38.159 And it says this for those who are being saved, it's the power of God. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.519 For those of us who've been saved, the cross is the power of Christ. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:45.360 For those who don't understand it, this is foolishness. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:50.000 And so Paul had been blinded by a light. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:52.559 Well, I need you to go on to verse number four. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:55.279 Freedom we see is by seeing who Christ is. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:58.480 He had to be introduced to Christ. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:03.759 He had to see and understand, and God just divinely throws this at him. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:06.240 Well, then look at verse number four. 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:09.440 Letter B is freedom by submitting to Christ. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:16.799 In verse number four, it said, Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:18.480 And he said, Who are you, Lord? 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:20.320 The Lord said, I'm Jesus. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:21.600 You're persecuting. 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.320 It is hard for you to kick against the goats. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:30.720 So trembling and astonished, he said, Lord, what do you want me to do? 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:33.679 And so we see this freedom by submitting. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.799 He is fighting against a much greater fighter. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.240 Anybody ever picked on a fight or got in a fight when you were young? 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:43.519 It wasn't smart to pick on somebody that was much bigger. 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:50.960 And so God from heaven says to Paul in this moment, Why are you persecuting me? 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:52.879 And look at his response. 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:54.480 How do we know that he submitted? 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.759 Okay, I think maybe he has this vision or whatever it is. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.399 And then immediately he says, Who? 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:04.240 Who are you, Lord? 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.480 But his capital L there, immediately he surrenders to the Lordship. 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:09.919 He says, Who are you? 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.080 He's trying to understand what have I done and who has it been to? 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:15.200 Who are you, Lord? 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:19.840 And he says this, I am Jesus. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:22.480 By the way, don't miss this. 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:25.679 This is a rich statement on doctrine. 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:33.120 If Jesus is just a prophet, other religions say, if he's just a good man, then Paul's conversion never happened. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:40.159 But Jesus Christ is God, and from heaven he sends this sign and he says, I am Jesus. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:49.120 As we learn through this study, the things that are man-made are legalism, they're rules. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:53.679 But we get moments like this that they're bedrock for our faith. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:55.679 Jesus is God. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.879 And this is what he says to him it's hard to kick against the goats. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.279 What does that mean, Pastor? 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:06.480 Well, you need to understand what an ox goat means. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:14.240 The definition of an ox goat is something that's used to prick an ox so that it would steer in the right direction. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:26.799 And so he's saying, when you go against the steer, when you go against what you were meant for, when you go against your direction, your purpose, he says, you're getting pricked. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:32.000 You're getting bent on a direction and you're getting goaded by the ox goat. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.080 And he says, This, it hurts. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:39.519 Listen, church, God has a plan for your life. 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:43.519 And when you go against God's plan, you can get hurt. 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:46.960 You might be sitting here today and you're hurt. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:49.919 What are you bending towards? 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:54.960 When you think about your life and your purpose, what are you bending your life towards? 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.039 Is it into an ox code? 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:05.600 God is steering, and if you don't go with that direction, you can be hurt. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:13.759 I was um my cousin had a little 50, I don't remember what brand or whatever, but it was a little dirt bike. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.720 And uh I had never ridden one before, and he said, jump on here. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:20.639 I'm young, I'm like 10 or 11 years old, and uh I'm like, that sounds awesome. 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:23.759 And I asked him how it works, and it was real basic. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:30.000 If you pull back on the pedal, that was the gas, and if you push forward, that was the brake. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:38.000 Um, and so I'm like, awesome! So I jump on the thing and I pull, I crank it back immediately, as hard as it goes, right? 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:39.360 And I took off. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:52.000 Well, it didn't strike me till too late how to do the break, even though I was told, and I ran straight into a tree, and then the little 50 fell on me, and I'm still holding the thing. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.399 It's on me, and let me tell you what was happening. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:14:06.559 I was holding the problem, it was in my hand, and I had the gas revenue, and the tire was throwing skin off of my leg, and I would not let go. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.519 Do you think I understand what it means to kick against the ox goat? 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:12.799 Listen to me. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:16.159 All I needed to do was let go of my control. 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:18.559 Church. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.080 Paul does later admit. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.679 He admits this is hard in Romans 7. 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:29.919 Paul said these words, okay? 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:31.200 Submitted to Christ. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:32.960 Paul, who loved Christ, said these words. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:34.559 I don't understand my actions. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:40.399 He says, I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:43.360 So I'm not telling you that this is easy. 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:49.679 Our flesh wants to control us, and we'll go through all kinds of pain because our flesh draws us. 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:52.320 And so Paul goes through this. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.960 I was thinking about a young man early in ministry. 00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:02.240 There's a young man in his early 20s that I spent nine months counseling with, and he was deeply addicted. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:04.399 He was deep in addiction. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.120 And I'm gonna tell you, he hated it. 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:09.679 He hated his addiction. 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.399 He said, I don't understand my own actions like Paul. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:13.919 I do not do what I want. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:18.000 In his mind, he said, I know this is not good for me. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:22.480 I know that I shouldn't be doing this, it's not good for my family, for my new little girl. 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:24.960 I know, and I hate it. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:35.679 While I counsel with him in the course of six months, he relapsed three times, and every time he'd come back to my office, he was so visit. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:36.480 This was real. 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:42.000 He was visibly broken over his fault, and he hated it. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:55.679 Freedom Church is submitting, completely submitting, saying, I am done, I am done with me, I am done with the thing that I'm holding so tightly to. 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:57.519 So, what was the secret for Paul? 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.399 How did he get through this? 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:00.720 I want you to see in Acts 26. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.480 Okay, it's the same story, but he says a little something different. 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:09.919 In Acts 26, Paul is explaining his conversion story to King Agrippa. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.799 All right, Acts 26, 18 and 19. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:16.240 That's what it says. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:23.679 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. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:25.120 This is part of Paul's calling. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:31.200 He said, This is why I'm here for the Gentiles, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.000 Therefore, King Agrippa, listen to this little phrase. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:38.799 I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:40.879 He says, God gave me this vision. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:50.480 I fell down Damascus Road, and I was called to the Gentiles from then forth, and I, listen, was not disobedient to the vision. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:51.519 I'm gonna say that again. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.159 I was not disobedient to the vision. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:59.600 There's some people in here today that I think struggle with that. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.639 God's called you, He's told you, He's separated you. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:06.079 And the question for you today is have you submitted? 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.160 Have you been obedient to the vision God put in your heart? 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:16.559 Have you been obedient to what He's told you to do? 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:24.480 A lot of times I think we think about what God says and we and we and we go back and forth mentally as to is that really God? 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:26.000 Is that really something I should do? 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:35.359 Is that really and God puts something on our heart and and and then we wait time and after time the flesh gets back in and we're kicking back against the goats. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:42.799 Well, that takes us to number two from revelation to transformation. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:47.599 We'll see the transformation of Paul point two through Christ. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:51.279 Go back to Acts chapter 9. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:55.920 I want you to see what happens to him here. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.680 It says that scales. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:01.599 Look at verse 18. 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:15.359 Verse 18 it says, immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he arose and he was baptized. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:18.880 This is what we know Paul saw differently. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:23.680 Paul saw a vision, and I don't know what that looked like physically. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:25.599 It says there were scales on his eyes. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:30.079 He was blinded for a time, and the scales fell off his eyes. 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:33.119 There's blind people through the Bible who Jesus healed. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:34.000 And this is what I know. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:38.160 If you were blind and suddenly could see, your life is totally different. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:47.599 I didn't have time for the videos, but if you go now, you'll you'll cry yourself all afternoon if you go look at videos of little babies that get glasses for the first time. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:50.000 Oh my soul, the parents they'll be weeping. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:58.480 All right, there's a man, there's a video of a man that was colorblind his whole life, and people give him these glasses, and he's like, and that'll get you weeping. 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:02.799 I mean, people that can see for the first time, life looks different. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:12.160 And so this we know about Paul is he fell down on that road, but when he arose, things were different. 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:16.960 Letter A is this he had freedom now from a desperate life. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:20.160 Go back to Galatians chapter 1. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:24.240 Freedom now from a desperate life. 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:29.279 This is what he says about his life before in Galatians. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:48.720 He says, For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure, and I tried to destroy it, and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:55.759 All right, and he goes on and talks about the life he had prior to Damascus Road. 00:19:55.839 --> 00:20:02.799 And he says, I was a Judaizer, I was a rule maker, and I followed the world's rule system. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.200 I tried to live to the rungs of the ladder that the world set before me. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.680 And he says, I tried to destroy. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:12.319 I tried to come against Christianity. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:16.160 And he says, I was zealous, I was eager more than any of my peers. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:19.680 Basically, I was the best of the best in that world. 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.359 I was leading the way. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:29.839 And in Philippians, he goes on, we don't have time to turn there, but in Philippians 3, verse 4 through 6, he talks about his upbringing. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:31.759 He says, I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.680 I was circumcised the eighth day. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:35.440 I'm a Pharisee of Pharisees. 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:40.160 And he goes on to describe exactly who he was in that world. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:41.920 And this is what he's trying to get at. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:47.359 In that world, I had reached the pinnacle. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:51.279 Circumcised on the eighth day, this is this, seven days is God's natural order. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.720 Eight on the other day represented the supernatural, the infinite. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:58.079 And so he's saying, I was the best of my class. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.640 He says, I was a tribe of the tribe of Benjamin. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:02.319 I was not a converted Jew. 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.519 I was an actual Jew, and so I have clean blood. 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:11.680 And he calls himself a Hebrew of Hebrews, meaning he was studied and learned the Hebrew language from an early age. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:17.359 He knew the Torah, he knew scripture, he was raised according to Jewish customs and learning. 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:27.599 And he says, Not only that, but I followed the Pharisees, which were the most conservative group, the biggest of rule followers, and I followed them to a T, and I was the top Pharisee. 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:29.759 I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:35.359 He says, Paul, in that life I had done everything. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:41.599 But Paul said, This I am done with that life. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:46.400 It had given me all it could give me, and what it had given me was nothing. 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:47.920 Are you with me, church? 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:54.880 This world today says if you'll fill up on all we got and get our success, then you'll be successful. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:58.640 And every time you hear that, you get to the top and you get empty. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.559 Amen. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:03.039 Listen, Paul said, I'm done. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:06.079 2 Corinthians 5:17 would mean something to Paul. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:08.799 It says, if any man comes to Christ, he's a new creation. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:10.240 Old things are passed away. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.559 Behold, all things are like new. 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:15.119 And so Paul had been transformed. 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:19.279 He literally was walking down Damascus Road and took a 180. 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.839 He was going to persecute more Christians. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.440 And he said, Nope. 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:26.000 Walking blindly, doesn't know. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:27.359 But I'm following. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:28.799 That is behind me. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:30.720 And I'm following this path now. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:32.079 I don't know what happened. 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.680 I don't know what that was, but this I know is divine. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:43.599 He had found the top rung of the ladder of this life. 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:45.839 And you know what he found at the top rung? 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:47.839 Another ladder. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.119 At the top of the world's ladder. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.000 Listen to me, church. 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.599 At the top of financial success, there's another ladder. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:59.680 At the top of your profession, there is another ladder. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:06.079 At the top of your home and all its beauty is another ladder and another home and another vacation. 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.920 There's another ladder. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:20.720 I was studying through this, and I don't know why God sends me music, but um Miley Cyrus made a song and it's kind of catchy. 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:23.440 Not gonna sing it. 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:25.759 But no. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:27.519 Don't beg. 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:28.880 I will not sing it. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:30.880 It says, listen to these words. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:32.079 My faith is shaking. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:33.759 I gotta keep trying. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:36.160 Gotta keep my head held high. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:38.160 There's always gonna be another mountain. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:40.000 I'm always gonna want to make it move. 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:41.920 Always gonna be an uphill battle. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:43.279 I'm gonna have to lose. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.960 Ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waiting on the other side. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:48.400 It's the climb. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:51.519 I like the sentiment of this song. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:53.440 But listen with me. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:24:04.720 If you're singing this and it's got a good fast beat, but always, always a mountain, always an uphill battle, that's depressing. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.200 I didn't become a Christian to always have an uphill battle. 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:10.319 Always. 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:12.640 Always a mountain. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.079 That's not what I want. 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.559 I Lord, that you hear me right in front of the church. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.160 That is not what I want, Lord. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:22.000 I don't always want to be climbing as long as I'm climbing. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:23.599 Well, that sounds nice in this song. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.039 I'm like, have you climbed? 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:27.359 Climbing, climbing gets tiresome. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:31.200 I've walked a trail, you know, like three miles is enough. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:33.519 I don't want to always be climbing. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:37.039 But this is another false gospel that creeps in today. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:39.680 And here it is: it's the self-gospel. 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:45.039 If you make yourself the central figure, then you can face the climb. 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:52.799 And in the story of David and Goliath, you are David, and all you gotta do is face your giants and you'll come on out. 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:54.720 But it's not what the Bible says. 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:56.480 You are not David in the story. 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:57.759 That is Jesus. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:01.200 And you need to depend on Jesus to win the battle. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.279 It ain't you facing it. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:10.000 If you're always fighting an uphill battle and the mountain has never changed, listen to me. 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:14.559 If it's always like that, maybe you need to change. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:24.799 If you're always facing tension, always facing an uphill battle, always facing a climb, I'm gonna say today, maybe you need a change. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:32.319 And so Paul, he lived that rung by rung by rung by rung, and his life changed. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:39.759 He had freedom now from a desperate life, and now freedom and two a distinguished life, his letter B. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:43.039 I want you to look at verse 15 through 17. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:26:05.519 But when it pleased God, who separated, he's still giving his testimony, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood. 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:09.200 And so what he says here is God separated me. 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:10.720 God did this. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:13.599 Paul, Saul, did not do this. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:19.039 I didn't go seeking and finding something on a spiritual journey or transformation. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:21.359 God separated me. 00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:25.680 You know, the word holy means separated unto God. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:27.839 You know, we're called to live a holy life. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.920 We don't like that word sometimes because it makes it feel like we're supposed to be perfect. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:35.759 It says, be ye holy in Scripture, 1 Peter, because I am holy. 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:38.000 And what it means is to be separated. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:42.319 It's not meaning you should be sinless, but you should sin less. 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:46.960 And so the more that you live for God, the more that you become even more separated. 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:52.319 And the other word that is used often is sanctified, set apart by God. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:57.279 And so I want to take you back to Acts chapter 2 and just see a comparison. 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:01.440 Look at Acts 2, verse 17 and 18. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:04.480 How was Paul? 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:08.000 I'm sorry, Acts 9, 17 and 18. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:15.599 Paul was suddenly, immediately different. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:18.240 He was separated, he was distinguished. 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:23.039 And so after he sits for a few days, Paul sits, verse 9, it tells us that. 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:25.519 He was three days without sight, neither ate nor drink. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:31.359 He was fasting, I guess, trying to figure it out, trying to understand what in the world was this? 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:33.119 Where do I go from here? 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:36.799 And and God calls Ananias to come to him. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:43.519 And it's a funny back and forth because Ananias is like, you mean the guy who's killing Christians? 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:46.640 That's oh, and he's okay, God. 00:27:47.279 --> 00:28:05.759 Uh but verse 17, it says, And Ananias went his way and entered the house, and he laid his hands on him, and he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.200 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:13.519 He received sight, and once he arose, he was baptized. 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:19.119 He says, I'm here, and the Holy Spirit, this is salvation. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.960 The Holy Spirit is going to be on you. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:22.640 You're going to be saved. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:24.160 And this is what Paul does. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.480 Immediately, it says the word immediately. 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:33.759 When you see that in New Testament, you'll see it a lot through the epistles, immediately means something that says, Immediately, Paul got up. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:37.680 It says, I think Paul got up and he says, I'm a Christian. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:40.000 I was persecuting y'all, but I'm a Christian. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:42.559 And he says, I can see scales fell from his eyes. 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:46.079 I don't know what happened in that moment, but this is what Paul does. 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:49.200