Acts #8: The Church, Paul, the Local Aspect — Stephen Kaung

Stephen’s Martyrdom and Saul’s Persecution

Let's read from,. And having cast him out of the city, that is, cast Stephen out of the city, they found him. And the witness laid aside their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. And they found Stephen praying and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their side. And having said this, he fell asleep. Chapter eight. And Saul was consenting to his being killed. And on that day there arose a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem.

And all was scattered into the country from Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And Pilate's men bade Stephen and made great lamentation over him. For Saul ravaged the church, entering into the houses one after another, and driving off both men and women, delivered them up to prison.

Saul’s Conversion on the Road to Damascus

Chapter nine, verse one. For Saul still breathing out threatenings and slaughters against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest and asked him of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogue, so that if he found any who were of the way, both men and women, he might bring them down to Jerusalem.

But as he was journeying, it came to pass that he drew near to Damascus. And suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven. And floating on the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecuted. But rise up and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. For the man who was travelling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but beholding no one.

And Saul rose up from the earth, and with eyes being opened, he saw no one. But leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was there three days without seeing, and neither ate nor drank.

And there was a certain disciple in Damascus by name Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, here am I, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Rise up and go into the street, which is called straight, and seek in the house of Buddha, one by name Saul, who is of Tarsus.

For behold, he is praying, and has seen in a vision a man by name Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he should see. And Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man how much evil he has done to thy faith in Jerusalem.

And here is his authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name. And the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is an illest vessel to me, to bear my name before both nations and kings, and the sons of Israel.

For I will show to him how much he must suffer for my name. And Ananias went and entered into the house, and laying his hands upon him, he said, Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent thee, Jesus that appeared to be in the way in which thou camest, that thou mightest see and be healed with the Holy Spirit.

And straightway they fell from his eyes, as it was filled. And he saw, and rising up, was baptized. And having received food, got strength. And he was with the disciples who were in Damascus seven days.

And straightway in the synagogue he preached Jesus, that he is the Son of God. And all who heard were astonished, and said, Good not this he, who destroyed in Jerusalem those who call on the name. And here was come for this purpose, that he might bring them down to the chief priests.

But Saul increased the more in power, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ. He mentioned before that the church, the body of Christ, is born on the day of Pentecost.

The Church’s Growth Through Conflict

After it is born, it begins to grow. And in the process of growth, it is gradually being formed according to the heavenly pattern. In the process of growth, there is bound to be conflict. This is the growing pain of life.

And first we find the conflict in the person of Cephas. Cephas is the one who has a vision, the vision of the Son of Man in glory. And to him, the church is not an earthly, physical, material thing, but it is spiritual and heavenly in nature.

And because of that, he comes into conflict with Judaism. Then we mentioned this morning that in the process of growing, again we find in the person of Philip. And here he is used of God to break through the prejudice of the Jews against the Samaritans, because the very nature of the church is universal.

And yet there is a unity that must be found. And for this reason, the Holy Spirit is withheld in his outpouring until the apostles come from Jerusalem and lay hands upon these believers. But I think no one, nor contribution to the church in its formation, more than the apostles.

In the process of formation, you will find God used Cephas, a Hellenistic Jew. God used another Hellenistic Jew. And here God used Paul, another Hellenistic Jew. Probably the reason is they are not so bound by the traditions of the Father.

In a sense, Paul was. But in another sense, no. But anyway, you'll find that when the church is going through the process of formation, in its formative years, it seems as if God uses certain vassals that are more suitable for him to break through.

And Paul, in a sense, is an entirely new vassal. He is not one of the ten apostles. He is not one of the seven who served the table. He is not even a follower of Jesus. On the contrary, he is a blasphemer and a persecutor of the church.

So God uses an entirely new vassal for the formation of the church according to the Heavenly Father. And I think that is the wisdom of God. In a sense, continually. You know, when Stephen was thrown, he saw a man in glory.

He saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God in glory. That was where he left off. And you'll find in chapter 9, that was where Paul took off. Because on the road to the Master, he saw that Heavenly Father.

So in a very real sense, what God begins with Stephen is continued in Paul. First of all, the first mentioning of Paul was when he was sold of Tarsus. The first mentioning of Saul was in Acts, at the time when Stephen was born.

Saul’s Jewish Background and Zeal for the Law

Now we know that Saul, he was born in Tarsus, a Roman city. You know, during that time, the Roman Empire conquered the whole world. And in certain big cities, the Roman Empire made these big cities Roman cities.

And being made a Roman city, all those who were born in that city enjoyed the privilege of the citizenship of the Roman Empire. In the Roman Empire, most people were slaves, conquered people. But only the Romans and those cities that were made Roman cities, people born there were born Roman citizens.

So Paul's Roman citizenship was born, not bought. He was born in Saul of Tarsus. And then when he was in his teens, probably at the age of 12, because during his time, during the age of 12, that was the day, the time of Bartholomew Smith, which is to be made a son of the Lord.

So probably during that time, he was brought to Jerusalem to learn the law. So he was real in Jerusalem. He was taught in the strictest sense of Judaism. He became a Pharisee. And he sat under the feet of Gamaliel.

Now Gamaliel was the grandson of Phileas, this great teacher of Israel. As a young man, he was taught by Gamaliel, the great teacher of his time. Young as he was, he was very zealous and earnest. And he told us himself that he was far more advanced than his contemporaries in Judaism.

And he lived. Now today we usually, when we think of a Pharisee, we do not have a good uh connotation to the word Pharisee. But actually the set of Pharisees began with a very good reason. The law was actually taught by the set of the Pharisees.

But most Pharisees were Pharisees in name, not in reality. So that's the reason why our Lord Jesus denounced the Pharisees very strongly. Why? Because they were hypocrites. Why? They taught. You're right.

But they were not there for the freedom to do it themselves. They put a big burden upon, load upon others, but they themselves did not do it. But who saw that young man was different? He himself testified that he lived a Pharisee.

He was not only taught, educated as a Pharisee, but he was a true Pharisee. He lived the life of a Pharisee. In other words, he was very strict, he was very honest, and he was very real. So he said according to the the righteousness of the law, he was a Pharisee.

He was that kind of person. He knows that. And of course being a Pharisee and taught, he was very deeply involved in the traditions of the Father. Now that could not be avoided, because as a Pharisee, they studied the law, but according to the traditions of the Father.

So at that time, Saul was very honest, very sincere, very real, but he was deeply involved, deeply occupied with the traditions of the Father. He looked everything with the light of the traditions of the Father.

And according to that outlook, he considered Jesus as an impostor. He considered the followers of Jesus as worthy to be persecuted. And in persecuting them, he thought he was serving God. So when we first find him in Ephesus, there he was, washing the clothes of those who stoned him to death.

As a matter of fact, he was one of the 70 of the Jewish Council. In Judaism, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council was the highest judicial authority. And Saul, though he was a young man, he was one of them, because he said whenever they condemned anybody, he gave his vote.

He had a vote, and evidently he was maybe executioner of the decision of the Council. The Council decided that Stephen must be stoned to death, because Stephen was a black seal, worthy to die. And Saul was executioner.

He was there washing the clothes of those who stoned Stephen to death as the executioner. So you can see that Saul had really advanced very far ahead in Judaism. But God, even before the foundation of the world, had chosen him.

And Paul himself said, God has set him apart even from his mother's wife. He was not called until he was on the road to the Master. And yet in God's sovereignty, in God's election, he was chosen, even before the foundation of the world.

He was set apart from his mother's womb, without, without disclosing anything. He was chosen by God with a specific purpose. He was to be a master there. Spiritual life with God actually began at the time when he witnessed the death.

Stephen’s Witness and the Awakening of Saul’s Conscience

When Stephen was stoned to death, Stephen said, I saw the heaven open. I saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand. His face shone like an angel. Now Saul certainly did not see that heavenly vision at that moment.

But he heard what Stephen said. And even though he did not see that vision, by seeing the face of Stephen, by hearing what Stephen said, he couldn't get away from a reality that was there. Now at least he was a sincere, honest person.

People who were false, you know, might listen to these words and nothing registered. But being an honest and sincere person, he was misled, that was true, misled by the traditions of the Fathers. And yet he was honest and sincere in everything he did.

So when he was faced with a spiritual reality, he couldn't escape from that. He didn't see the vision. But he saw Stephen. And he saw Stephen giving up his spirit to God and pray for forgiveness for those who stoned him to death.

He couldn't get away from it. So we will say that the blood of Stephen germinated in the life. Persecution of the church in Jerusalem began. And who was the chief persecutor? Saul persecuted the people of the way with such goofiness, he would enter into every house and drag men and women and put them to prison.

Now that wasn't like the action of a gentleman. Now Saul certainly was brought up to be a gentleman. A true Pharisee should be a gentleman. And yet the way he acted was almost like a mad person. He would not only drag the men, he would drag the women.

There was no kindness, no gentleness in Saul. Now I wonder why he did that. Why did he persecute the people of the way in such an ungentleman-like manner? Why? Was it because his conscience was troubled?

You know, when a person's conscience was troubled, he tried to fight against his conscience. In fighting against his conscience, he would do things that he would not do ordinarily. He was trying to drown his conscience by these cruel acts.

He was trying to convince himself that this was serving God. So most likely the martyrdom of Stephen had done something in his life. He was not able to get away. And in fighting against that conscience, you know, he tried to do things in a double manner, you know, trying to drown the voice of his conscience.

And he persecuted believers, not only in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judea. And even to the extent he asked for documents from the priest that he will go to Gentile cities. Damascus was a Gentile city.

And he will even go to, went to a Gentile city with a document from the Jewish authority that he may seize upon anyone that was in that way and took them to Jerusalem to be condemned. So you find that Saul, evidently, the Spirit of God was thriving with him.

But he was fighting, even as he was on the way to the mark, always reaching the gate of the mark. God was never in a hurry. God allowed Saul to go as far as he could. Then at no time a great light shone upon him and his father.

And they all fell. And there, that was the turning point in the life of Saul. It began with the death of Jesus. But on the road to Damascus, there was, even to the very end, towards the end of Paul's life, his testimony to King Agatha was, I was not disobedient.

His whole life and ministry is explained. And that heavenly vision actually was the vision that Stephen saw when he died. So that's why we say Paul just picked up what Stephen left off. And actually you will find his ministry, his work, as to his contribution to the formation of the church, was actually in the same line as Stephen.

The Heavenly Vision of Christ and His Body

Now what is this heavenly vision that Saul, who later was named Paul, saw on the road to the mark? There are at least a few essential elements in that heavenly vision. Number one, of course, a great light shone upon him.

And he fell upon the ground. All his followers saw the light. They heard the sound, but they didn't hear the voice. Only Saul heard the voice. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? You know it is hard for you to kick against the wall.

Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the wall. Now, of course, when Saul heard that, he knew what it meant. Because with the Jewish people, when they ploughed the field, they did not have machines to plough the field.

They ploughed the field with oxen. And they put an ox, or a double, two oxen, you know, under a yoke. And then they attached the yoke to the plough. The father would put one hand on his plough to guide the plough, pulled by the ox under the yoke.

And in his other hand, he would have a sharp instrument called the goat. It is a sharp instrument. And as he guided the ox in ploughing, of course, in ploughing you have to keep the plough straight, so that the furrow will be straight instead of zigzagging.

But sometimes the ox has its own will. So when an ox was not following the direction, the direction of the farmer, the ox was going to the right or to the left, then the farmer will use the goat and just prick the leg of the, of the ox with the goat, you know.

But of course, he will, he will just prick, prick the goat against the leg very gently, you know, just to make the ox feel that, that was all, you know, so that the ox will learn to be obedient and submissive.

But the ox sometimes was very stubborn. And instead of pricking the leg, the ox will kick against the goat. And in kicking against the goat, of course, the ox was hurt. But because it was hurt, it learned the lesson of obedience, you know.

So the whole picture behind the word was this. God had a purpose on this life. Even before the foundation of the world, God had already chosen him. When he was in his mother's womb, God had set him apart.

God had a purpose in this life, as if God had put him under a yoke, pulling apart, doing God's will. But he didn't know it. And he rebelled against it. He wanted to go his own way. He wanted to do his own thing.

And because of that, God would just prick him very gently from time to time. But instead of taking the lesson, he kicked. He kicked and kicked, and he got hurt. So God was saying to Saul, Saul, I have apprehended you, but you try to kick against the goat.

You try to go your own way, you won't succeed. You won't succeed. You better learn the lesson of obedience, and submit yourself to me and to my plan. So when Saul heard that, he instantly knew that it was no use to fight, to kick.

The only way for him to do was to, so he said, Lord, who are you? Lord. He knew that he had met a man, a man in glory, that he couldn't thrive and struggle and fight with. He knew that before that man he was defeated.

He was able to defeat everybody else. And yet before that man, he knew he had to say, Lord, who are you? Even though I do not know who you are, but I know that you are my Lord. I'm no match. You have a hold upon my life.

I have to submit, but who are you? And the Lord said, hope you persevere. Now at that moment, the game to see, and that is Jesus of Nazareth, is Lord. That is the first part of the heaven. You know, our conversion is not complete in the beginning.

You know, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, we accept him as our Savior. And it may take several years before we acknowledge him as our Lord. And because of that, you'll find our Christian life is very weak.

Because we only receive him as our Savior, but we do not see him as our Lord. But in the case of Paul, it's different. When he was saved, he surrendered his life. You know, in mentioning, in connection with that, I'd like to tell you something about Brother Lee, you know, because I mean, probably some of you are interested in him.

Conversion as Surrender to Jesus as Lord

His conversion is almost like 1920. He was 17 at the time. He was brought up in a Methodist church, and he studied in the Anglican Mission School. But he had absolutely no interest in Christianity. He had his own plan for the future, and he was very, very brilliant.

He could be a success in everything. No doubt about that. And in 1920, a lady evangelist came to his native city. Dr. Barbara Lee, a medical doctor. When this medical doctor was conducting a gospel campaign, Brother Lee's mother got saved.

And Brother Lee's mother was a strong, very dominating, strong, and Brother Lee saved his mother. Because he, at one, she at one time, you know, mistreated him. But after the mother got saved, the mother came to his father, Brother Lee's father, and asked Brother Lee's father for forgiveness.

You know, in the family, she dominated everything. But after she was saved, she asked for forgiveness, and that touched Brother Lee's heart. So when he was invited to hear this lady, this lady evangelist, he went.

He said, anyone who could convert my mother, it's worth a hearing, you know. So he, he went. Nothing happened the first two nights. But the third night, the Spirit of God began. But Brother Lee did not accept the Lord.

He was troubled. And he told us himself, he said the reason why he was troubled was not because he was not ready to accept the Lord Jesus. He was ready. But because he was not ready to give his life over and acknowledge Jesus.

He knew that he cannot accept the Lord as his Savior without giving his life to the Lord, and to make the Lord his Lord. He knew that wouldn't be right. It has to be both. Either both or nothing. But he couldn't do that, because he said he had his future all planned.

He had a great future planned for himself. And to give up everything and surrender his life, he was not ready to do that. So he stood before Jesus until finally one night he was in his room, and he said the Spirit of God began to put before him all the sins that he had.

He said he saw the blackness of his sins, and at the same time the redness of the blood of Jesus Christ. And he said at that time, the love of Christ just constrained him. And he accepted the Lord as his Savior, and at the same time he accepted Jesus.

Now that was his conversion. The conversion of soul was with this man. It wasn't just receiving forgiveness. You know, thank God that we do receive forgiveness when we believe in the Lord Jesus. But that's very weak, you know.

Very weak. Unless we see him as the Lord of all. Lord. You are Lord now. You are Master. You know. Unless we see that, our beginning is very weak. He, the conversion of soul in the heavenly vision, the first part of the heavenly vision, is seeing Jesus.

He is Lord of all. Jesus of Nazareth is his name while he was on earth in humiliation. He was crucified. But he rose from the dead, and he is now at the right hand of the Father, made to be Lord and Christ.

Relatedness, Submission, and Fellowship in the Body

Now this is the head, and this is what Saul saw in that heaven. The danger is the second part. He said, Lord, who are you? Who are you? He saw the Lord, man in glory. But he did not recognize him. So he said, who are you?

And he said, I am Jesus of Nazareth. Why do you persecute me? When the Lord says, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who thought to use his mind at that moment? He could easily answer and say, I have never persecuted you.

You are beyond me. How can I persecute one in glory? I can only persecute people on earth. But you are a man in glory. You are beyond my reach. I can never persecute you. Because Saul could easily defend himself in that way.

But no. When you are faced with a heavenly vision, it is not a matter of trying to figure it out with your mind. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? But Saul said, I don't know who you are. You say I have persecuted you.

I don't remember who you are. How can I persecute you? Now, who are you that I have persecuted you? You see, that puzzled Saul. Because he didn't understand. But here you'll find the Lord does not say, why do you persecute my followers?

The Lord says, why do you persecute? He would have said, Saul persecuted the followers of Jesus. But he had never persecuted the Lord. But the Lord told to Saul on the road to the master, that the head and the body.

If anyone should touch the body, any part of the body, the head would complain and say, why do you touch me? Now suppose someone kick your leg or kick you, your leg. You do not say, why do you kick my leg?

You say, why do you kick me? Saul was persecuting the members of the body of Christ. He was touching the members of the body in Jerusalem, in the cities of Judea, and now he was on the way to Damascus to do that.

The head in heaven complained and said, why do you persecute me? So even on the road to Damascus, in that heavenly vision, it is not just the head that Saul saw. He saw the one new man with Christ as the head, with the church as the body, and the body as the head.

He realized that. So God dealt with him in the very first day. Suing him, anyone who touches any part of the body, because the head on the road to Damascus we may say, Saul met a universal man. Everywhere he went, he met that man.

He met that man in Jerusalem. He met that man in the cities of Judea. He will meet that man in Damascus. That man is a universal man that fills the heaven and the earth. That's the vision, the heavenly vision.

Ananias and the Local Expression of Christ’s Body

On the very first day, the body of Christ, one with the head. Lord questioningly did. Now certainly, he was expecting the Lord to give him a direct answer. You know, Saul was a master of his own. He knew exactly what to do.

He was the head of everything, but here he was completely. He said, Lord, now you are the Lord. You give command. You will certainly expect the Lord to tell him what to do. To have such a great ferocity, to serve the Lord, surely it would add honor and glory to the Lord.

But the thing is, the Lord did not tell him directly what the Lord wanted him to do. You get out. You go to Damascus, and I will send someone to tell you. On the road to Damascus, at that moment, you'll know what will happen.

The apostle Paul will be the greatest apostle, but the most independent apostle. Because he received his commission directly from the Lord. He did not need anybody else. He will go out to establish the church, to build the body of Christ, and yet he himself will violate every principle of the body.

He became the body. He was so great that he will be the body. So the Lord taught him a practical lesson. You were a great member, yes. You were going to be a great member in the body of Christ. But remember, you were only a member.

You needed other members of the body of Christ. You have to learn relatedness. You have to learn submission. You have to learn fellowship. You cannot live without me, but neither can you live without your brother.

Now that's a practical lesson. So had to learn. If he otherwise being such a big member, so gifted, he will certainly be a very independent member. He will certainly violate every principle of the body that he will be used to build.

So God had to teach him some very practical lesson. Now you saw the vision. Do you just go out and try to fulfill that vision? Now you saw the vision. You go to the Master and learn some very practical and small lesson.

Before you launch out. You know that's our trouble, you know. When God gave us a vision, a very special vision, immediately we would say, all right, I will go out and break it out. You know, without first learning some practical lessons concerning that vision.

And that vision cannot be first worked out enough. We are not qualified to go out and try to work that vision out. So here you find God said, you go to the Master. And he went to the Master, blind by the light.

You know, I often hear people say, I see the light. I know exactly what it is. Because in history, if you see the light, you will be blind. You can only say, well, I think I really see something. But I really don't know.

I really don't know. You see, you really see the light. You know, he was blind for three days and three nights. And he was there fasting and praying. Now the heavenly vision did not, the heavenly vision continued to the Master.

Because there in the Master, the vision continued. As he was praying, he saw a man by the name of Ananias coming in and lay hands on him. Now remember, this was part of that. The problem is we confine the heavenly vision to what the soul saw on the road to the Master.

But remember that's only part. On the road to Damascus, he saw a big man. A universal man. A man in glory. And that lifted him up. But that was not the whole of the heavenly vision. When he entered into the city of Damascus, he saw another part of the heavenly vision.

What is the other part of the heavenly vision? A small man. Not that man met him on the road to Damascus, you know. But a small man by the name of Ananias. Ananias was unknown in Jerusalem. So was a more known person to the world than Ananias.

Ananias was a powerful man, a believer. Probably a leading brother in the church there in Damascus. He was unknown, practically unknown in Jerusalem. He was known in Damascus because he was a pious man.

But in comparison with Paul Saul, he was a small man. And yet here you find so sore in the vision that this man seemed to condense himself into a small man. And that small man came to him and lay hands on him and made him see.

Now this is on the one hand is universal. We need to see that. We need to see the vision of the church universe, the ages and generations who believe in the Lord they are. Touch their body everywhere.

It is universal with the head in heaven. Now we need to see that vision because seeing that vision will enlarge us. Otherwise we'll be very narrow. That would enlarge our capacity to see what God. He is doing a big thing for the universe.

But that small man is most practical because it is the small man that comes and lays hands. The small man that makes Saul see and know the will of God. So when you come to the practicality of the body of Christ, you have to see the continuation of the vision that is in the city.

Learning the Universal and Local Dimensions of the Church

Now brothers and sisters, I do thank the Lord because during the recent years in this country, in the people, with the people I meet and the writings I read, I do find that many God's people are beginning to see the body of Christ.

And they begin to talk about the body of Christ. And thank God for this universal body. They only saw that big man. They do not see that small man. When they talk about the body of Christ, thank God for the universality of it.

They do not know how to come down. But this body of Christ has this local and this local expression in comparison is like a small man to a big man. But it is not another man. It is a big man condensed.

So when you come to practicality, all the lessons that we need to learn in the body must be learned in the local. It is no use saying I have fellowship with all the body of Christ. It is too late. You have to learn to be related to the brother and sister who live next to you.

If you cannot live with your brothers and sisters related to your brothers and sisters next to you, how can you say I'm in fellowship with the universal body of Christ? That's impractical. Impractical.

And I think the problem today is this. We are talking about the body of Christ. So glorious. Oh it cannot get down to business, to earth and to practice that life. In the case of Saul, you'll find it's very humiliating.

For a big member receive the help of a small member. God purposely refrained from telling Saul what he wanted him to do. But instead using another little member to convey to him the purpose. God wanted to teach Saul from the very beginning.

Now he was to be the vessel for the building of the body of Christ. And being that vessel, he himself must first learn that lesson. How he needed a little member. He could not be. He will never think without his brother.

He will never know without his brother. He cannot do without his brother. So in a sense Ananias represents the church, the local expression of the body of Christ. And you know this vision was confirmed because at the same time Ananias received a vision.

The Lord told him to go to the streets and find a man, Saul of Tarsus. When Ananias heard that he said, Lord I have heard of this man. What he did in Jerusalem. And he came here with a letter from the chief priest.

He sees us. And Ananias was the chief prophet. Paul and Ananias could never see each other in the natural. If they saw each other one must be killed. They could not coexist. Yet here you'll find. Ananias said Lord I couldn't do that.

Because he came with that purpose. And I was the one whom he was seeking. The first one. Saul will be seeking in the city of Damascus. But the Lord said this is my time. He will be the one who will be used to be my witness among the nations.

He will suffer much for my nations. And here you'll find Ananias in Sparadawge relying upon his logic. I wonder. You know these two men could not meet on earth. But there you'll find the beautiful thing.

But the beautiful thing was Ananias went into. He laid his hand on them. That is identify himself with Saul. Ananias identified with Saul. And he said brother. They were enemies. But in the grace of God they are not.

The Lord Jesus will appear to you on the road. Friendly to you that you may trust him. And he filled with the Holy Spirit. And he immediately still fell down from his body. And you know when Saul opened his eyes.

What did he see? He saw his brother. So he remained with the disciples in Damascus. Now that. So you see the heavenly vision is not just something big. Something glorious. And it has another part. And that other part is most.

He is the another one. You'll find the only vision was very real to him. It worked out in his life. And because it worked in his life. He was able to be used of God. To build up to the end. He could testify.