 I want to take you through chapter 9 verses 10 through 22 today as we're looking at the book of Acts and I Normally have been wanting to kind of grab different pieces of it But this is a continuation of what we began last last time So I'm going to take you into verse 10 of chapter 9 and we're going to go from verses 10 through 22 And so I'll begin reading at verse 10. I'll read the verse 16 and we'll get into our study Acts chapter 9 beginning at verse 10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias and to him the Lord said In a vision Ananias And he said here I am Lord So the Lord said to him arise and go to the street called straight And inquire at the house of Judas for one called soloptarsus for behold He's 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 and Ananias answered the Lord I have heard from many about this man How much harm he's done to your saints in Jerusalem And here he has authority from the chief priest 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 name's sake And so again, I'm going to give you a brief review of what we've been seeing and then move you into the verses before us We know that sol had been given authority By the high priest to arrest Christians He hated Christians He considered them blasphemers and they needed to be punished You see in his mind it was his duty to find them and to bring them to Jerusalem for trial This is something that he never forgot. He spoke about it often in acts 22 4 and 5 He said it like this He said I persecuted this way to the death binding and delivering into prisons Both men and women As also the high priest bears me witness and all the counsel of the elders from whom I also received letters to the brethren And went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished In chapter 26 of acts verse 11. He he said I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme And being exceedingly enraged against them. I persecuted them even to foreign cities So paul says it. He says I persecuted them. I punished them often in every synagogue In acts 22 19 God had told him to leave Jerusalem. So he said I said lord, they know that in every synagogue I am prisoned and beat those who believe on you And so he was well known for doing these kinds of things. Well as he was breathing out threatenings and he was on his way To uh Damascus in order to to uh chain up and bring back for trial those who were believers in christ Jesus appeared to him He was on his way to imprison believers, but Jesus was there to set him free And in verse 4 of chapter 9 jesus spoke to him. He said sol sol. Why are you persecuting me? Now sol had been denying everything concerning the ministry of jesus. He had rejected his teachings He explained away his miracles He especially would have denied his resurrection But now the resurrected one is manifesting himself to sol and asks him a question. Why are you persecuting me? You see in persecuting my people you are actually persecuting me In john 15 18 it reads if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you So paul It is not them alone that you are rejecting and at war with you are at war with me Now in this paul has a an experience a personal experience of seeing the risen christ And and though he was not aware of it at that time This experience is actually going to validate his credentials You see seeing the risen christ is one of the requirements of an apostle All the way back in acts chapter 1 in verse 21 and 22 it says of these men Who have accompanied us all the time that the lord jesus went in and out amongst us Beginning at the at the baptism of john to that that day when he was taken up from us One of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection Later on paul would say it like this in first carinthians 9 verse 1 he would say am i not free am i not an apostle? Have i not seen the lord jesus? In first carinthians 15 verse 8 he said last of all he appeared to me also So seeing the risen christ is one of the requirements of an apostle There were other requirements by the way to validate credentials of an apostle They were to have performed miracles In second carinthians 12 verse 12 it says the true marks of an apostle signs wonders and miracles Were performed among you with great perseverance and also they were those who wrote scripture So you have matthew you have john peter and paul himself And so these were things that validated credentials i say that to you Because there are those today who are claiming Apostolic authority you can see them they're on tv very often and and they refer to themselves as the apostles so-and-so Or come in here the apostle Well, the word apostle is a greek word apostle us and it means one who has been given authority and sent out That's what the general meaning of the word is So if they use that word meaning that i've been sent out by the lord and i have authority And they equate that will say with being a pastor or some call it a bishop, you know, I can understand that and why they would use that But there are others today and I say this briefly But there are others today who refer to themselves as apostles And equating themselves With the apostles of christ and so these are the credentials of an apostle I have seen the risen lord. I have performed miracles and they wrote scripture And so those are part of the things that made up the apostolic credential and all of that so Jesus had hunted him down And jesus had captured his heart And so he revealed himself to this man saul And saul came to a genuine faith in christ So in verses five and six of this chapter He said who are you lord and the lord said i am jesus Whom you are persecuting it's hard for you to kick kick against the gods So he trembling And the stoner said lord, what do you want me to do? And the lord said to him arise go into the city. You'll be told what you must do So basically he asks him a couple questions lord. Who are you and then he says what would you have me to do? And so who are you jesus refers to himself as who he is and then he says i give you an order do this and so This is his surrender. This is where he gave himself to christ He submits himself to the lord jesus christ and again his orders were simple going to Damascus and wait Go to Damascus and then you're going to be told what you'll do now Paul was stricken with temporary blindness He had to be led into the city and the scripture says for three days He remained blind and he didn't eat nor did he drink So being blind and helpless gave him opportunity to be humbled It gave him the opportunity to consider What had happened? I want to share with you for a couple moments about this god had crushed Saul god crushed him and as a result He arose as a great man of god There's a a writer that i appreciate his name is aw tozer and Tozer once said this he said it is doubtful whether god can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply It's doubtful whether god can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply In the breaking came the making of a man of god It produced humility And it revealed to him that without jesus He's nothing In second carinthians chapter four verse seven paul later would write We have this treasure in earthen vessels That the excellence of the power may be of god and not of us We have this treasure in earthen vessels in clay pots in ordinary earthen vessels The vessel itself is not that valuable. It's what we have within it And god is deposited in you and i want to make this a personal application He has a he is deposited in you his gospel. He's given to you his holy spirit And so within you are his words and his spirit But one of the ways that the spirit in the word is released for the work that god has Is coming through the breaking of the vessel The woman comes to the lord jesus christ and and wants to anoint him and before she anoints him with this valuable Ointment that the vessel had to be broken and the fragrance of that breaking vessel and what it contained that that beautiful Ointment that was within it the fragrance of it fills the room the scripture tells us But that that that fragrance that valuable fragrance was was of no value until The vessel carrying it was broken and and that's what the lord will do with you god will break you And i know that doesn't sound like something somebody got up this morning and and said to themselves I'm going to go in here that i'm going to suffer So i think i'll go to church in here pastor david But it's true It's through the affliction That things are removed from you That make you like christ Tozer is right God will use you after he has broken you God will moving you in powerful ways After he has broken you i was speaking to my my wife marie today and as we're Just this morning as we're preparing to come to work My dad came up in the conversation and we spoke with my dad for a moment And she said you know your dad was such a sweet man And everybody in the church at that time my dad has gone to heaven You know 22 years ago, but those who were in our church and knew my father at that time Everyone i've ever spoken to it has said the same thing. He said your dad was sweet And my dad was my dad was But i said you didn't know him before he got saved It wasn't that my dad was cruel because he wasn't my dad was a good man hard worker My dad was a very decent man very honest man a lot of integrity a lot of great things loved my mom He there's a lot of things about him But one of the things about him that that came later on was he was not compassionate My father was not a compassionate man My father was a man of his generation a man who who you know put his nose to the grindstone Did the work he had to do and didn't show any emotion my dad didn't show emotion hardly at all I didn't hear he ever say to me this isn't a complaint a lot of you can can relate to this some of you Were raised in a similar way my father never said i love you to me till i was 17 And the only reason he said that is i was in trouble and he wanted to let me know he cared That was my dad i only saw my father cry two times in my whole life Prior to him coming to faith in christ my dad was a man of his generation showed no emotion Didn't say i love you he he way my father showed affection to me is if i walked by he'd hit me That was how my dad was and he really loved me Hit me all the time So marina we're talking about that i said you know the father in law you knew Was not the father who raised me The father who raised me Was not kind The father who raised me didn't show emotion The father who raised me Didn't say i love you he never hugged you he was none of that What you saw was what christ can do in a broken man I said because my father got saved my mother was already ill But after they got saved My mom got even more sick and more sick to the point of being Eventually completely crippled And it was through caring for a broken woman Seeing the woman the only woman he ever loved suffering And he retired early from his job just to stay home with her And he was able to live with my mom and care for her for the last nine years of his life And the last last prayer that i know my father ever prayed was jesus please take care of my wife And the last word my father ever said was when you saw my mother for the last time And he only said one thing to her i never heard him call her by her name She was always a mama and that was his last word mama And then shortly thereafter my father died and so marie saw that But she didn't see the transformation And how did the compassion come into my father? He was broken My father was broken Because he cared for a broken woman so Don't be crying out against the afflictions that you will feel sometimes and the pains you go through That's part of the process That god will work in your life the things you're praying for what are you praying for father make me more like you Make me like you The word christian simply means a little christ or christ like i want to be christian make me like you And then the lord says i am but remember that jesus is the wounded healer You see that in isaiah 53 he was broken and he was crushed what makes you think you're not going to be And so that's part of the earmark of somebody who really knows the lord Because no matter what you're going through you're never alone No matter what you go through he's with you I will never never never leave you nor will i ever forsake you though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil why for thou art with me and so that's what we need to know That's how it works and so you may be going through a hard and difficult time right now many of us are But god hasn't forsaken you and the lord was working in the life of this man without him even knowing it Breaking produces the the priceless vessels that god uses We see that kind of thing in scripture We can see it in the the life of a man by the name of jacob jacob was the grandson of abraham the father of the the hebrews jacob's father was isaac his mother was rebecca And jacob had a twin brother named isa and isa was favored by isaac but rebecca favored jacob And so sibling rivalry prevailed in his early life We know the story ultimately it grew to the point that he had to leave and he lived in another land While he was in this other land jacob met and married a beautiful young woman named marie. Oh, i'm sorry named rachel She got hold of my notes Rachel he settled down for many years And ultimately he decided to return home While on his way home He was told that his brother isa was coming to meet him and that isa had 400 men jacob feared for his life and so jacob sent his wives and his possessions before him And he waited to meet isa And it was there they had a that he had a visitation that changed his life forever The angel of the lord came and and the bible tells us that jacob wrestled with him till daybreak Eventually the angel touched the socket of his hip and and crippled him jacob held on though and and he told him i will i will not let you go until you bless me And it was then that the angel gave him a new name In genesis 32 28 the man said your name will no longer be jacob But israel because you have struggled with god and with humans and have overcome The name jacob means supplanter it also means sneaky He'll catch her But your name will be israel prince of god in chapter 32 verses 30 and 31 in genesis jacob called the place peniel Saying it is because i saw god face to face and yet my life was spared The sun rose above him as he passed peniel And he was limping Because of his hip Jacob's limp was a constant reminder of his dependence on god For the rest of his life he walked with a limp I walk with a limp Many of you do too It's not visible It's not visible But you know it You've been crippled by god and you know it I have This uh this month i celebrate 50 years Of trying to teach the bible 50 years I've walked with the lord for a long time And i can tell you That god does break you i can tell you that you will go through You flip affliction hardship and difficulty That's part of being a christian The people people in general People in here You will lose a few friends a few people that you know over a lifetime pastors lose Hundreds of people that they've known and loved over theirs We carry things that you don't realize or don't even know We carry pain that other people have put on our shoulders and we do so because that's what we do But the bottom line is those are the things that make you strong The brokenness is healed by god it gives you a depth and an understanding Of how other people feel And a care for them and a love for them that is real And you walk with a limp You come to church and you limp on in and you sit on down Nobody knows it nobody realizes it But you've come in with that limp because you love the lord and you will walk with him like that for the rest of your life But you will be used by god in powerful ways Because you care about people you've got compassion and concern You've been changed because of god That works that way. It's a good thing. No no no breaking at the moment is pleasant But it yields the fruit of righteousness It gives you strength and a perseverance and an endurance That that the lord will work in your life and and you're able to tell other people It may seem to be dark right now, but remember this the light is going to come God has not forsaken you. He's there He'll show himself and you watch what god will do And you're able to do that because you've done through so many things yourself So many breaking so many losses so much sorrow so much grief And oftentimes sorry to say so much rejection But the lord Works through that you see that taught him something about the lord. He didn't know The lord will inflict a wound that reminds us us of his work In us Psalm 119 verse 75. I know oh lord that your judgments are righteous And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me And so this is something that sol is going to learn this is something that believers learn over a lifetime And returning to to sol god had told him to go to damascus And that's where we're picking up our story in verse 10 There was a certain disciple at damascus named ananias and To him the lord said in a vision ananias And he said here. I am lord Now ananias is a follower of christ. He's living in damascus. It's not the same ananias that was mentioned in chapter five This man is a devoted follower and believer in christ later on in acts 22 verse 12 paul said A man named ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected By all the jews living there So paul says this is a man who was highly respected highly devoted He was known before he came to christ. He was known for his faith But after coming to christ his faith was even stronger He had a spotless life and and he's using him later on as as a as a Reference if you will Giving credibility to his own testimony. Well in verse 10 it says that the lord spoke to him in a vision And he said here. I am lord Now the word vision speaks of a waking dream in which god gives a revelation and insight or direction You see that many times in in the old testament, but in genesis 15 verse 1 as a an example It says after these things the word of the lord came to abram in a vision saying fear not abram I am your shield and you're exceeding great reward. And so god was given a revelation and insight In acts 2 verse 17 in the last days god says i'll pour out my spirit on all people He went on to say your sons and daughters will prophesy your young men will see visions Your old men will dream dreams and i've been dreaming a lot lately So verse 10 he says here i am lord now. I want you to see this that his initial response is Familiarity as well as obedience. He's a genuine follower of jesus And so as he's saying that verse 11 The lord said to him arise Go to the street called straight inquire of the house at the house of judas for one called sol of tarsis Behold, he's praying 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 and so It mentions a man and i'll just say this briefly He said go to the street called straight inquire at the house of judas. That's the only mention of this particular man There's nothing else said but he lodges paul And he goes on to speak of what paul is doing Known as sol at that time verse 11 he says behold he is praying So that reveals what he's been doing for the last three days He had been breathing out threatenings and now he's breathing out prayers And undoubtedly he's confessing his sins as well as learning of the grace of god In first timothy 113 he said it like this. He said I I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man I I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief Well verse 12 says in a vision he saw ananias coming in healing him Now this is an act of compassion and tenderness on the part of the lord first sol He was given a vision that gave him hope In Psalm 118 verses 18 through 21 the lord has chastened me severely But he has not given me over to death Open for me the gates of righteousness. I will enter and give thanks to the lord This is the gate of the lord through which the righteous may enter I will give you thanks for you answered me You have become my salvation and so As he's saying go He needs to receive his sight He says he's praying well ananias verse 13 answered lord I've heard from many about this man. How much harm he's done to your saints in Jerusalem He's here Here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name lord. I know you're busy You you you ruling the universe and you've got a lot of activity and I'm pretty sure that you have Maybe maybe you've overlooked this. So if you don't mind Let me share with you something that perhaps you're not aware of I need to inform you about this guy. His name is sol I've got some advice that I'd like to offer you. He's a persecutor. He's killing people He's putting him in jail And in romans 11 34 the question is asked who has known the mind of the lord who's been his counselor while ananias is He's saying this could be suicidal He has man's authority to destroy the church In acts 8 verse 3 sol made havoc of the church entering every house dragging off men and women Committed them to prison Sol said in acts 22 4 I persecuted this way to the death This is going on. I'm concerned. This man is wreaking havoc. He's bringing destruction. He's punishing people. He's putting him in jail You're asking me to go and speak to him and minister to him ah It's been said if you want to make god laugh give him advice So in verse 15 the lord said to him shut up No, he didn't He said go For he's 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 name's sake go Man gave him authority to destroy But god's going to give him authority to build up God told ananias paul is a chosen instrument to reach Gentiles you see sol had experience in both jewish and Gentile cultures And because of this he could minister to both but especially to the Gentiles he He was from tarsus a Gentile city And he had a knowledge of The culture of the Gentiles he was He had the culture of the Gentiles as well as he was a Hebrew of Hebrews. He spoke Hebrew. He followed Hebrew customs He was a Hebrew of Hebrews He wasn't a convert. He was an actual Hebrew man And so he had an ability to communicate cross-culturally For those of you who who have two cultures You you know when an advantage that is you know that I was raised with two cultures. I understand that I ministered in the united states obviously and but I also go to Mexico And I'm able to minister in two cultures. There are nuances everybody knows their own culture, but Many of us don't know other cultures But paul did And paul was able to minister to jew as well as Gentile And so god was going to use him in that way And he is chosen By by god he didn't ask god didn't ask ananias for his opinion or input Later on in glations in chapter one paul introduces the book at verse one by saying this paul and apostle Sent not from men nor by man, but by jesus christ and god the father who raised him from the dead Man didn't send me god called me Now notice in verse 16 how how the lord said I will show him how many things he must suffer For my name's sake He would not merely profess repentance. It's been said but would Manifest the sincerity of it by encountering trials and reproaches for his sake You see when god called him he made it clear. He's going to endure his sufferings He had caused great suffering for others. He'll endure great sufferings Himself and when you read your bibles, you'll see that he writes about some of this in his books in his letters For example, second carinthians 11 24 through 27 paul said five times. I received from the jews the 40 lashes minus one Three times. I was beaten with rods Once I was stoned three times. I was shipwrecked I spent a night and a day in the open sea I've been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers in danger from bandits in danger from my own countrymen In danger from Gentiles in danger in the city in danger in the country in danger at sea And in danger from false brothers. I've labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep I've known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food I've been cold And I've been naked I've gone through so much He suffered many things But what he went through had drawn him closer In second carinthians in chapter four verses eight through ten. He said it like this. He said we are hard pressed on every side But not crushed Perplexed but not in despair Persecuted but not abandoned Struck down but not destroyed We always carry around in our body the death of jesus So that the life of jesus may also be revealed in our body I've gone through so much. He's saying later on. He writes about that Jesus said he will suffer Many things for my name's sake And he did well after saying that Verse 17 ananias went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him. He said Tag you're it. No, he said brother I'm sorry brother sol 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 immediately There fell from his eyes something like scales and he received his sight at once he arose And was baptized and when he had received food he was strengthened and sol spent some days with the disciples at demascus So jesus's words gave him comfort and assurance he obeys immediately He lays hand on him and notice he calls him in verse 17 brother sol That communicates that he had been truly saved now ananias brought the healing and the filling of the spirit to sol He was saved and he was filled by the spirit. He was empowered for service Acts 22 14 and 15 ananias said the god of our fathers has chosen you to know his will And to see the righteous went into hear words from his mouth You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard And so sol was saved. He was filled with the spirit and he was water baptized All of this without the other apostles present. It was totally a work of the lord Remember when the samaritans were saved how peter and john had come to minister to them And well in this case none of the original apostles were present This was a work of the lord now as this is taking place verse 18 There fell from his eyes something like scales his eyes had been encrusted with a film and that fell away Some see this as a picture of his spiritual blindness being removed He was blind to grace and true righteousness through faith in christ And and now it's removed as he received spiritual sight Verse 19 he received food. He was strengthened Three days of fasting left him hungry. He's able now to eat and then verse 19 He spent some days with the disciples at damaskas Now I want to share a couple thoughts about that that would have included some who had fled because of his persecution Imagine what you'd have felt like if you were one of them Here's this guy who breathes out threatening as he's showing up and now he's in your house I wouldn't have been very comfortable with that at all But it goes to show you what the lord can do when god brings somebody to his knees and god brings somebody to faith in christ The one who was threatening and persecuting and and all the evil things that he was doing Is now there with you and and that shows you what can happen When the lord breaks into somebody's life People who who are perceived as enemies Can be changed by the grace of god The one thing that I really believe strongly Um is necessary especially in this age Is for us to as believers To once again realize the need for a spiritual community and relationship When I was a young man, I went to calvary chapel for the first time I was 19 years old at the time I entered in to the church and I was there amongst these people I would have been called an enemy of the gospel because I rejected the gospel I rejected that I I thought it was good for you, but leave me alone I had that it wasn't the kind of hatred that that's all had by any means, but it certainly was a rejection And when I walked in and sat down amongst all those other kids at that time I was 19 years old as I sat there amongst all those kids. I I found something I didn't know what It was I but I did feel something And it took me a while from for me to finally come to realize what it was and what it was was simple These people whom I rejected were actually loving and they loved me and I don't know why they did that But there was a love that I felt from them towards me and that confused me Love covers a multitude of sin When Saul went amongst these people who many probably Had fled persecution by him. He was welcomed by these people. We'll see a reaction later on of some others But they received him And as they received him He began to preach notice in verse 19 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues that he's the Son of God and all who heard were amazed and said Is this not he who destroyed those who call on this name in Jerusalem? And has come here for that purpose so that they might bring them He might bring them bound to the chief priest that's all increased all the more in strength Confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus proving that this Jesus is Christ Lord, who are you and what would you have me to do? I am messiah and I would have you share the good news That's what I would have you to do And what did he do? He went to those who he was most familiar with he began in the synagogues He stayed there for a while But then he began to preach and he preached immediately His one time venom for the believers was converted to love for them and their fear of him was changed into acceptance and even trust And he stayed there and he stayed there for some time perhaps stretching into months But immediately verse 20 he preached the Christ in the synagogues He went to his fellow Jews and that became the pattern of his ministry You see it in acts chapters 13 through 19 to the Jew first and also for the Gentile And by the way, that is very common for those who've been transformed by the grace of God We are saved and we begin to share with our circle of acquaintances We tell our friends or family we tell them about the Lord the co-workers perhaps the neighbor that were Friendly with that's what happens and that's what he did He began to open his mouth and share about what Christ had done it and the result verse 21 says as they were amazed They thought this is a different man. His incredible conversion is unbelievable His hatred for Christ has become a passionate love for him But he in verse 22 he increases all the more in strength. He's confounding the Jews He applied his Old Testament knowledge to what he was learning about the grace of God and faith in Christ And he began to share immediately It reminds me of the man of the Gadarenes the man who has been demonized and Christ has set free It says in Luke 8 38 and 39 the man from whom the demons had departed begged him that he might be with them But Jesus sent him away saying return to your house and tell what great things God has done for you And he went his way and he proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him When you get saved you tell people You don't want to keep it to yourself. Now sometimes people say, oh, you know, you're an extremist, you know, you're a You know, you're a christian activist or whatever No, what I am is I'm just being obedient to the command I don't want you to go to hell. I want you to know the Lord I want you to know Jesus Christ And he gained the spiritual insight he grew as he shared And that's one of the things I want to leave with you One of the ways that you will grow in your faith one of the ways Is when you give it away Spend time in the word Have your devotions read your bibles And give away what you learn When you do that an amazing thing happens in john 14 21 Jesus said he who has my commandments and keeps them. It is he who loves me He who loves me will be loved by my father. I will love him and manifest myself to him You will be So blessed and so blown away how that when you simply open your mouth and begin to share Are you sense the presence of God in a deeper way? I've been doing that now for a long time and I can tell you people will say How is it that you've remained faithful to the Lord? I share what God has given me That's what you do And he manifests himself to you there's a sense of his presence And it says as he shared in verse 22 he confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus the word confound means to disturb The word proving he was proving that Jesus is the christ is the cause of person to come in the same to the same conclusion So he clearly and he powerfully was showing them. Jesus is messiah His teaching and his preaching were intended to clearly communicate the truth He explained the message of the cross He gave an apologetic for it And as he preached the gospel People were coming to an awareness That god Has manifested himself in human flesh and men by the name jesus He did it because he knew that people without christ were doomed That they would come into judgment And it stirred him to share the gospel Like it says in second chrindians 5 11 knowing therefore the terror of the lord We persuade man What was the heart of the jesus movement is the heart of the movement that he began All the way back in the first chapter of acts the birth of the church in the second chapter And that is he fills you with the spirit And you tell the lost That jesus is the way You don't keep it to yourself You get up in the morning And you say to the lord What do you want me to do today That i will do He may give you an opportunity at the job site. He may give you an opportunity with the neighbor They'll be talking to you. They open the door. It's very obvious that they're speaking of spiritual things and And you tell them Somebody says well, you shouldn't be pushing your beliefs on others And you say well The fact is is your beliefs are pushed on me constantly I was on a trip There's a woman sitting next to me on a train marie was seated across from me and this woman was next to me And she says to me That she's an entertainer. She's in europe to to Apply her trade. She says I sing dirty little bar songs And i'm just sitting there listening to her okay And after sharing with me a few things she asked me Who are you and what do you do? And I say I preach against dirty songs. No I said, uh, I said i'm a pastor And her next response is I don't like people shoving their faith down my throat I hadn't said a word. I just said listen to her And so I said She said I don't like people shoving their faith down my throat. I said but you can shove yours down mine She goes, what do you mean? I wasn't shoving my beliefs down your throat. I said, oh, of course. Well, when are my beliefs shoved down your throat? Every time I turn on the tv Every time I turn on a radio Every time I see a billboard Every time I look at a newspaper Every time I read a magazine Every time I go out into the street your beliefs are shoved down my throat But I'm not supposed to share my beliefs And shove them down your throat And she got really weird about it, but that's exactly what happens See right now and I'll close with this The world's shoving stuff down your throat, but you're supposed to smile and take it Now I don't do that. I'm going to tell you what I believe You don't have the right to tell me what you believe without giving me an equal opportunity to tell you what I believe That's just that's just life. That's the way it is And it's not and and that's that's that's not an angry thing That's just that's how it's always been. So you don't have the right to tell me what you think I'm supposed to believe You can't tell me what words to use in my house when I speak of you That's what's going on right now, by the way You don't have the right to tell my grandchildren Your beliefs without me being able to say something to the contrary You don't have the right to control my life and I'm not trying to control yours. I would say I just think that if you have the right to speak So do I and my words carry weight because it's the gospel truth And so paul spent time telling people about the lord And that's what we as believers are to do also Father I ask that you would work