 Yeah, good morning. Good morning, friends. Good morning, Dave. All right, so let's just give the others maybe about half a minute and then we will get started. So I think you can begin. I just would like to request one of us with the Arren. Arren, could you lead us in our world, friend? Let me pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. Lord, if you cannot learn, we ask your supernatural wisdom to understand your living world. Lord, enable us all to grow more in the EHJ as we call deep in your living world. So, Spirit of God, come and reveal us the truth. So I pray in access in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Arren. So we will start off from Acts chapter 9, where we were at in the last class. We were talking about the supernatural encounter that Apostle Paul, his Roman name is Paul, but, you know, he was family, like referred to as Saul in this chapter. We talk about the encounter that he had with God. So we saw how he was a persecutor of those who followed the way and the way was the movement that started out, you know, that included people who believed in Jesus and Jesus as the Son of God. Part of the Holy Spirit was manifested through these people. They were moving in science, wonders and miracles. And the others called them as people belonging to the way. So this could be one of the earliest ways in which disciples of Jesus or Christians or believers were addressed. So at that time, they were not called as Christians. They were not called as, you know, you don't see other terms. But we just see the term those who belong to the way. And we saw how Saul was very, very zealous to persecute these people. One of the reasons we also said that he explains himself in other scriptures where he says he wanted to serve God and passionately defend righteousness. So in his mind, when he was persecuting those who belong to the way, he must have thought that he's doing God's service. Okay, so he did it with that attitude and that intention. So, you know, we are understanding that Saul was passionate. He did want to do righteousness. But it's just that he didn't understand the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit. So he was going in the direction opposite to what God really wanted him to follow. So we will continue. We were at verse three, I think so. Yeah, no, we've touched on that as well. We said that the Lord Jesus meets him and speaks to him on the road to Damascus. And he says, you know, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And then, you know, Saul asks this question. I think that's why we stopped by persecuting me. And Saul asks these questions to this voice that is speaking to him. He says, who are you Lord? And God answers the voice answers, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the courts. So he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do? Question number two. Okay, then the Lord said to him, arise and go into this city and you will be told what you must do. So notice here, when the voice comes, obviously, Saul is curious. He wants to find out who is this, who is speaking to me and from heaven. So he had that sense of reverence and he is addressing that voice as Lord, you know, who are you? Who are you Lord? So that much he understood that this is not an ordinary voice. So, you know, this is kind of the important question that every human being needs to ask, isn't it? You know, when God encounters us, when we hear the word of God, when God's spirit is ministering in our hearts, so that question comes up, who is this, who is Jesus? And in many ways, that's the question that leads us closer to God. So like all other human beings and, you know, people who are on a quest, Saul asked the right question, who are you Lord? And I think God must have been happy that he asked this question. And then he says, Jesus introduces himself, says his name and in those times, there were so many different Jesuses. That was a common name that people use. But still, you find that the Lord Jesus, when he introduces himself, he doesn't say, oh, I'm Jesus of Nazareth. But because Paul was zealously persecuting his people, Jesus's people, you know, it's a given Jesus thought, Jesus knew that he would understand if only the name Jesus was mentioned. So the Lord Jesus replies to him and he says, I am Jesus. And, you know, he gives a little bit more of an introduction and says, you know the Jesus whom you are persecuting, whom you are persecuting. And before that, he had already said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? So this is how the Lord Jesus introduces himself to Saul here. And he also says, it is hard for you to kick against the goads. So in those days, this expression was understood by Saul. So they used to use some sticks which are known as goads and these sticks would restrain the feet of oxen. When people were leading oxen in a certain direction, they would use these goads to direct them. Now, if the oxen kicked against the sticks or goads, it's like the oxen, they are resisting the direction in which they are being led. So what was Jesus telling Saul here? Saul here, he was saying that I am leading you in a certain path and maybe God being God, he knew all the excuses or the thoughts that Saul had within himself which would prevent him from following Jesus. So Jesus says, don't even try to resist me. Basically, that's the point. So that's what Jesus is trying to tell him, don't try to resist me. Or in other words, he says, it is hard for you, you are that ox and I am leading you in a certain direction. If you try to kick against what I am doing, it's not going to succeed. So don't try to resist the work of God. That's what God was trying to tell Saul. Now, when Jesus spoke to him and he was making his intention clear that he is going to communicate what he wants Saul to do. And I'm sure by now Saul had the awareness that whatever he was doing till now was not correct. Because Jesus from heaven is speaking, if this Jesus was a human being, how is it that he is still alive? How is it that he is able to speak from heaven? So he must have got the point that all these believers, he has persecuted, we don't know the numbers but so many believers, he imprisoned them, he beat them. And now in those experiences, he must have understood a little bit about this Jesus. I'm sure they would have shared with him. He was also there when Stephen was martyred. So Saul had an idea about who this Jesus is but maybe in his own heart he had not resolved that Jesus is the Messiah. As the Jew, he must have had his own ideas and said that Jesus doesn't fit the will. But the moment the voice from heaven said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. He connected and said, oh my goodness, this is the Messiah. This is the person that I have been hearing about. But this is the person whom all these people whom I persecuted have witnessed about. So he has come to a place of acceptance, a place of, you know, like it sort of dawns on you at some point. You have had the question all along, without all along, but it dawns on you that this is it. This is the Lord. So that was the moment during Paul's encounter which he had. So we see here that he was trembling and astonished it seems. Because in those moments he realized that the campaign of hate and the campaign of revenge that he was taking against those who followed Jesus. It was all a big mistake. He was trying to work against God. So he is trembling. He has made a mistake now and zealously he has made that mistake. So he is trembling and he is astonished. Now could it be because of this supernatural encounter, you know, there is a voice speaking from heaven that itself is, you know, something that will cause awe. A sense of wonder in us. It could be both. One could be that the way in which God spoke to him was amazing. Secondly, he realized that whatever he had been doing in his life till now it was not correct. So he is trembling. He is astonished that this Jesus is truly the Messiah. And he asked that second question. He understood. Okay. Now that I have met God and he is telling me not to resist him, there must be a direction. There must be a path that he has cut out for me. So I better find out what that path is. So he says, Lord, what do you want me to do? Okay. This is what every human being needs. Who are you Lord? Once you understand that he's God. Second, what do you want me to do with my life for you? So I'll ask that question. Then the Lord gives him an answer. What does he say? He says, Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. Okay. Very interesting answer. The Lord Jesus gives it. Now we might think that when you ask this question, Saul is asking about his life. Okay. What does God want me to do with my life? But Jesus is giving an answer which has to do with the next step. And then we realize that sometimes that's all God wants to communicate to us. You know, when we talk about the prophetate, how God speaks, God might tell us the next step. Okay. And when we follow the next step, it will take us on our path to reach the destiny. So God may not always give us the full picture. Now yes, there are times, sometimes where God can tell you, you know, I have called you Saul to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Now you are going to do all these things for the kingdom of God. So his whole life and the vision for his life, that was not revealed to him. But how is God actually speaking to Saul? He's giving him the next step and he's saying, come on. Now what you want to do is you better get up and you go down to the place where I'm telling you to go. So that is exactly what Saul does. And even in our lives when God is, you know, we have a big question about the future, God might just say one thing, one step for us to follow. Now we know that Saul was a leader. He had taken the letters intentionally from the high priest and he was moving towards Damascus and other places to persecute the believers. So he was not alone. He had others with him. Verse 7, we notice what happened to the people with him. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. So this again is something that we can wonder about. How is it that Saul saw light? But the people with him never saw it. We don't know, you know, why something like that could happen. The common experience which he had and the people had, it says hearing a voice. So they too must have heard the voice of Jesus and probably whatever was spoken by Jesus and then, you know, Paul's response as well. So they knew where Saul had to go. Now what was the condition of Saul after he had this supernatural encounter? You know, Saul, obviously something happened to him. We'll read the next line here. It says, then Saul arose from the ground and when his eyes were open, he saw no one. So that's what happened to him. He saw such a bright light that, you know, sometimes when you see a bright light momentarily, what happens? You can't see anymore. You can't see clearly. You stabilise. But in the case of Saul here, the bright light, the way it affected his naturalisers, he could not see anybody anymore. So he went blind. But because these people had heard the voice of God and what was spoken between Saul and God, they lead him by hand and they bring him into Damascus because he's not able to go on his own. Okay, based on that experience, that supernatural experience which he had, one is he was not able to see and it affected him so deeply that we read that three days he was without sight. All right, but he did not eat or drink. Okay, so the supernatural encounter must have startled him. Now what are the reasons that he got startled? The rain which got encountered him and also I told you that he must have been, you know, so terrified that he had been persecuting God's people all these days. So in his heart, right, we don't know all the things that were going on. But you know, we understand that those days the Jews used to fast and they used to pray to see God. So maybe Paul was in that place where he wanted to see God. He wanted to just cry out to God with all the doubts, the confusion in his heart and just set aside food, water and just look to God and ask him the same questions which he had asked God and said, Okay, now that you're speaking to me, what do you want me to do? So it shows a genuine change in the heart of Saul. Now, suppose the change was not genuine, what will happen? He would have just got up, he would have gone and he would have forgotten about it and said, Oh, okay, fine, you know, I had this encounter. So what? I'll just go about doing what I need to do. But the encounter touched him. It impacted him. So he was in a place where he had to process things internally and see which direction God is going to lead him in. Okay, now also, you know, as we look at this encounter that Saul had, you know, in the book of Acts, we will see different kinds of people. If you recall, when we talked about Acts chapter 8, over there we saw Simon the sorcerer. He was such an influential person in the city, in the region of Samaria and he encountered Christ. He gave his life to the Lord and then later on, you see Philip talking to the Ethiopian eunuch, another influential person and that person gave their life to Christ. Now, this is a completely different individual, a persecutor. Okay, somebody in authority can an individual like this have a genuine heart transformation. You notice that it has happened. So, you know, today as we look at people all around us, we can judge them in different ways and wonder, can God minister to those who are following, you know, Simon the sorcerer. He was following the occult. But God touched his life. Ethiopian eunuch, you know, in charge of the treasuries of the Queen of Ethiopia. So today, maybe some big minister or somebody, can God touch that person's life? Why not? Now Saul, somebody who is going against the work of God, today we might look at some people and say, look at them, they are passionately opposing the work of God. How can God touch this person? Right? And they even would be leading this movement against the people of God. And we might totally dismiss that person and say, never. God will never bless this individual. God can never work in the life of this individual. But see what God did. God encountered a persecutor, Saul. Okay. That really shows us. Wow. In the book of Acts, God is touching lives of all kinds of people. So there is no limitation, you know, as to who the Lord can minister to. So today, if God puts everyone in our hearts, we too can pray for them. Don't wonder, can God touch that person's life? Is it possible? Yes, it is possible that God can encounter Saul. He can encounter anybody. Okay. So the people with him, they helped him to come to Damascus over there. Saul was blind. He was seeking God. That is what we understand from, he didn't eat, he didn't drink. He was seeking God. Since a change of heart was happening, then what happens next? There was a man, he was a certain disciple, it says, from Damascus by the name of Ananias. Okay. Have you heard Ananias before? Have you come across this name before? In the book of Acts, just, okay, yes, where have you heard this name? Yes, are you all awake? Okay. Dave says, beside Paul, okay, yeah, he ministers to Paul. Okay. Yes. Have you heard? So far we have touched on this name actually. Not able to remember, do you know, like Acts chapter 5, we said Ananias and Sapphira, those who lied to the Holy Spirit and died. Can you recall now? Okay. Okay, good, good, good. Yeah. So even there we saw our name Ananias, but you know, that's a different Ananias. Don't confuse this individual. This is a disciple from Damascus. Okay. And God is speaking to this disciple in a vision. See God speaks in different ways, isn't it? And we have, we have, in the case of that Ananias story, we saw how Peter rebukes him. There he had a word of knowledge. God spoke to Peter through a word of knowledge. How does God speak to this Ananias who is from Damascus? He gives him a vision. He gives him a vision. God speaks to Philip. Go and overtake the chariot. Okay. So you see, God is communicating like some words in his spirit. So God is communicating. Remember when we talked about the Acts of the Apostles, I told all of us that this is actually the Acts of the Holy Spirit through the life of the Apostles and believers. So it's like the Holy Spirit is directing. The Kingdom work in the book of Acts. So the Holy Spirit is speaking to a man called Ananias and telling him in a vision, right? What to do? So today we too have the same Holy Spirit and the work of the Kingdom is being orchestrated. Can we also have the experiences similar to the book of Acts? Very much because the Holy Spirit continues to speak to us. At the language of the Holy Spirit, you remember Peter stood up and he said, this is that. Okay. I had in the experience that people had that day they were speaking in tongues, but Peter preached and he said that, look, in the last day, God said he would pour out his spirit. And what will people flow in? Dreams, visions. These are all communications of the Holy Spirit. So, you know, it is something that God will pour out on us. And today we can also ask God, but the way you gave a deep thought to Ananias, he is giving us. Just think about Ananias. He is not being addressed as an apostle in the city of Damascus. You know, nothing great as far as position is concerned. He is a disciple, but is God speaking to a normal believer? Yes. And God is speaking through a vision. So, we too can trust for today. We could just be going about our lives and God can give us a dream. He can give us a vision. He can give us an instruction the way he is going to instruct Ananias. And that's the beauty of God. He ministers to all his children. What did God tell Ananias? See, I really like this. Earlier when he spoke to Saul, he said, Saul, Saul. You know, God is so mindful about individuals. He spoke the name. Okay, and that is so special. Now, the vision, you know, Ananias hears. Ananias, the name of that individual. And Ananias also responds. See, when God speaks to us, we need to respond. Saul responded. Ananias says, here I am, Lord. Okay, it sounds like a very biblical response. Because earlier in the Old Testament, you know, here I am, Lord, send me. You have prophets responding like that. So, Ananias seems to give the same answer. Here I am, Lord. So, Ananias knows, okay, I think this is an assignment. God wants me to do something. And so God said to him, Arise and go to the street called Strait and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying. And in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. So, this is unusual. And I'm sure Ananias understood what God was trying to tell him. So, God came in the address. It is like, you know, arise and go to commercial street. Okay, the road that has this shop go there. So, very specific directions Ananias is getting from God. A street called Strait. So, what is this? This is a word of knowledge. Did Ananias already know the place or he did not know the place? That we don't know but you know, God knows all things. So, he can tell us exactly where we should go or what we should do. So, a word of knowledge is apparent in the vision there. And he tells him, you go to, it's like saying go to door number 345 where, you know, Mr. John lives and talk to John. So, exact address of an individual. So, inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. Now, this is the difficult part. Till now, I think Ananias would have been like, yeah, okay, I can go. I can go to commercial street. You know, door number 3, you know, whatever, 349 and meet Mr. John. Not a problem, God. But God says, you know, who is waiting for you there? And you could put a name to it. Like if you have a persecutor, suppose there is a persecutor whom we know that our entire region is kind of shivering under the works of that persecutor. Everybody will know who that man is. And Ananias, he would have already known who Saul of Tarsus is. Now, it's like sort of dangerous. Okay, God, I can go there, but God is telling him Saul of Tarsus, he is the person. Okay, he's there and he's praying. So, it doesn't connect. How can this persecutor be praying? So, I'm sure there was some confusion that Ananias must have experienced. And in a vision, God also tells him that you have a vision. I am speaking to you, Ananias, but I have also given a vision to that Saul of Tarsus. And I have, you know, it's like confirming the appointment. You send a message to John and you send a message to Peter and say, okay, 3 p.m., your appointment is confirmed, both of you meet at this place. So, in the vision, God is confirming the appointment. And he's saying, you know what Saul has seen in the vision? He has seen a man and specific name. Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. Okay, so what do you think the response would have been of Ananias? Well, he could have been really scared and thought, I will not go to Saul of Tarsus. Okay, God, excuse me, give another Ananias this vision, send that person, I'm not going. Okay, but thankfully Ananias doesn't do that. Okay, he goes, obviously that's why, you know, in the vision Saul has seen Ananias coming and doing this. So, Ananias with all his reservations and doubts still signs up for the assignment. So, verse 13, Ananias answers. He says, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my needs sake. So, it's like what Moses responded, right? Moses at least directly he gave an excuse and said, no, I can't speak God, you know, and it angered God that Moses was trying to resist what God was telling him to do. Ananias is kind of coming to that complaining mode. Okay, but he builds it up and he says, God, you know, this man, this persecutor, I have heard about him and we already knew it was in the newspapers that, you know, they are coming to Damascus. He's coming to Damascus and, you know, he is going to do all these, whatever, you know, hold some seminars against God. You know, they are going against us or they will rush into people's homes and they are going to capture the ones who believe in you and all. So we already knew the agenda a lot. So he's trying to explain to come to a place where he might say, it's too dangerous. Don't pick me, but, you know, God goes on. God understands our, you know, our fear. Okay, already in the vision, God has clarified to Ananias, he's saying, look, Saul of Tarsus is praying and that's hard to believe, you know, for a man. In his mind, he must be imagining, oh, this man called Saul of Tarsus, he's like this. He's a very, like a fierce, you know, kind of a persecutor. He's coming and his face must look all angry and all of that. But God in the vision clarified to him, this man is praying. Okay, so that itself is God trying to help Ananias to understand, look, listen to me. Okay, I am working in this person's life. You do what I'm telling you to do. So God convinces him further and he says, he is a chosen vessel of mind. Isn't that crazy? You think God persecutors are not choosing you. They're going against you. Why are you choosing persecutors? But that is the way our God works. Okay, in this case, did Saul choose Christ? No, God chose Saul. Did we choose God? Yes, we responded to the gospel message, but we know scriptures tell us that we love because he first loved God. He chose us, he appointed us to bear fruit in his name. And in a similar way, Saul, maybe he had no clue what he must do with his life. But God says about Saul, he's a chosen vessel of mind. So God has a plan, even for the so-called evil people. According to our judgment. And what is the plan that God had for Saul to bear my name before Gentiles? So more specific. Remember when Saul asked God, Jesus the question, what do you want me to do, Lord? For whatever reason, Jesus never told them all these details. But Ananias is getting the details here. Chosen vessel of mind bear my name before the Gentiles. Who else? Kings and the children of Israel. So God is revealing the nature of Saul's work to convince Ananias and say, look, there is a purpose. There is a plan that I have for this man's life. Or I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name sake. So it's as if Jesus had already chosen Saul as a minister. And the zeal with which he was going in the opposite direction, that was going to turn around. And we will now see the same Saul with the same zeal. Maybe even more zeal working in the direction of the Jesus who spoke to him on the road to Damascus. So Ananias had great clarity in the vision and God told him, I want you to do this. What does Ananias do? He was 17. Ananias went his way and entered the house. That's all God wants from us, obedience. Okay. Yes, there are doubts in our hearts, but when God is saying something, we have to move according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. So obedience. No wonder God picked Ananias. Maybe God knew his heart and thought, okay, there are so many believers in Damascus. I know Ananias is obedient. Let me speak to him. So God spoke to Ananias. And what Ananias went, he did it. And he went to that house, Judas house and there just the way Saul saw in his vision. A man is coming by the name of Ananias and laying hands on him. Ananias did that. And what does Ananias say? He says, brothers Saul. Wow. Until now, discussing with God, you know, I know about this man, Lord, he is a persecutor. But what changed? Now that he has met Saul, he uses the title brother. Okay. So in the early church, usually they would say brother for someone who is born again. So it was settled in Ananias heart that Saul has now become a believer. So without any fear, just think about it. He's laying hands. Suppose Saul's heart was not changed. How can Ananias lay hands on a persecutor? How can you call a persecutor a brother? A brother, but God confirmed all that settled all that in his heart. You know, sometimes God is that way, you know, you understand God is so thoughtful. He's so sensitive. He understands, you know, the condition of our hearts. Sometimes he is very patient with us when we have doubts also. So all the doubts and fears which Ananias had, how can I go? Oh Lord, God settles that. When Ananias goes, he's going confidently. He's laying hands on Saul, the persecutor and also calling him as brother. So brother Saul, oneness, it recognizes that this person is now born again and part of the body of Christ. Second, this shows the love that the believers had for one another. Now, Ananias assumed Damascus. This new believer, he's from a different place, but you see the body of Christ. You can be from here, there, different churches, different places, but there is a bond of love within the body. We are all part of the body of Christ. Okay, that bond of love is coming through when Ananias addresses Saul and says, come on, you are now part of my family in Christ. You are now my brother in Christ. Still, you know, three days back, three days back, you were an Anani, but everybody who accepts Christ becomes a part of the body. Okay, so he says, brother Saul. And it's also in a loving, encouraging way. Now Saul is blind and Ananias knows that he's blind. So that is that compassion. Oh, three days this man has not been able to see. You know, may the Lord heal him, may the Lord give him back his sight. So there's all that coming through just with that one-term brother. When he addresses Saul, so he says, 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. So Ananias also recognizes his own assignment. You know, when God sends us somewhere, there is something he wants us to do. So Ananias says two things here. One is that your sight should come back. Okay, and the other is that you should be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the reason the Lord Jesus has sent me to you over here. And he had already laid hands on Saul here. So then what happens? He says, immediately that fell from his eyes something like scales. And he received his sight back once and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. So the supernatural healing of Saul's sight took place when Ananias ministered to him. Now, why did Saul go blind? That's a big question. We don't know. We really don't know. But in other places where Saul explains himself, in the book of Acts itself, you will find that when he is talking about his experience and his transformation, some people use the word conversion. He says that he encountered a great light in the midday. And that light could have been such that it blinded Saul. I mean, we don't exactly know why he went blind. But he went blind and when Ananias ministered the scales fell off and he was able to see, to confirm his faith in the Lord Jesus, just like all the other believers. When Peter preached, he would preach the message and then he would call people to respond. And after people responded, what would they generally do? Be baptized in water. So truly, Saul has had a transformation from the inside out. And that is why he is healed and at the same time, he goes in for the water baptism to confirm that okay. My old life is gone. Here I am, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and I am going to follow Jesus. So he was baptized and all this happens in Damascus. So the believers in Damascus, they are sure that this persecutor has turned around. And after the healing took place, you also see that he received food and he was strengthened. So whatever he was seeking God for, he must have prayed and said, Lord, I want my side back. I also wanted to show me what to do and God answered his prayers. So usually, in the Old Testament, you see so many instances of the people of God fasting and praying. They seek God and when they get the answer, the fasting is over. Similarly, here he eats his food and he was strengthened. So that's about how God ministered to Saul and that beginning as a believer. That journey is initiated in Damascus. So it's very encouraging for us to know that God could actually bring such a transformation in the life of somebody who is a persecutor. So what I'll do is maybe I'll just take some of your comments here because this is about the transformation of Saul. So anything that comes to your mind as you hear what God did in his life, amaze you that someone like Saul can become a believer? What else? What else about the way God sent Ananias? Okay, Dave says it gives hope true. So we can pray. If God put somebody, you could pray for that person no matter how far away from God that individual may be right now. But you see how God encountered, do we know that believers during that time with praying for others? Of course, it was a praying church. So a lot of people would have prayed for Saul. Now that could also be one of the reasons why God actually ministered to him. So what we'll do is let's stop at this point. We will come back together and then we will continue. We'll read a little bit more about what Saul does in his journey and then move on to reading other miracles that God does through Apostle Peter in the same chapter, chapter 9. So at this point we are going to take a break and we will come back together soon. Thank you. Thank you everybody. See you after the break.