410: Roger Lewis - Gone to Arabia

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:03

   Welcome to good Christophian talks. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed each week. We post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world. Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk. Hello, this is Brother Adam.

2. 0:35

   This week we’ll be listening to Gone to Arabia by Brother Rodger Lewis, given at the 2008 College of the Prophets. What makes this class unique is that we as the audience go on a detective hunt to uncover a particular journey that Paul goes on. If you’re like me, I was completely unaware of Paul going to Arabia, yet after listening to this class, I’m confident in this journey where it takes place in Paul’s life and that I too must go to Arabia.

3. 1:11

   You may find yourselves with a sign on your door that says Gone to Arabia after listening to Brother Roger. He helps us to see the importance of taking time and meditation in God’s Word to make the commitment to understand our Creator each day that we must prioritize our appointments with God in our weekly schedule. To help set the scene for this talk, Paul was converted and saw the truth for the first time in Acts Chapter 9. He is on fire for the truth and before he goes out preaching, he takes a visit to Arabia.

4. 1:49

   He dedicates one-on-one time with God in solitude before going out to preach the name of Christ. Brother Rodger does a great job with using the Scriptures for good Bible reading. He walks us through the details of Paul’s trip to Arabia and presents the application to us

5. 2:08

   to understand why Paul went to Arabia and why we too must go there. Please give your kind attention and have your Bible in hand as we listen to Brother Rodger Lewis’s class entitled Gone to Arabia. I’m just going to give some introductory thoughts to set the scene for this next week, and I’m going to talk to you about something which I think is really helpful for purposes of where we all are in our development and the truth.

6. 2:38

   I want to talk to you tonight about Paul’s visit to Arabia, and that’s an X Chapter 9. So if you’d like to turn to X Chapter 9, you’re just going to take up the story there.

7. 2:53

   So remember all the lessons you’ve been learning this week. You need to be ready to notice Bible illusions, to read the Bible carefully. I learned exactly that lesson from Uncle John many years ago, that good Bible study is based on good Bible reading. And I’ve been spreading that message around the world as well because I learnt that well from Uncle John a number of years ago.

8. 3:14

   And we’re going to find that again tonight and and and tonight is really just one little snapshot of an idea. But I think it’s so appropriate to the College of the prophets. Now you notice what it says in Acts Chapter 9 verse 18. It says and immediately there fell from his eyes. This is at the time of the baptism of of Paul.

9. 3:36

   Immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forth with Anna Rose and was baptized. Now, there’s something interesting, by the way, I think about that moment of time in Paul’s life. You see, what it’s saying is that at the time of a person’s conversion, it’s as if scales come off the eyes.

10. 4:00

    Now, some of you in this room are baptized and some aren’t. I don’t need to know which of which, by the way. In fact, it’s better that I don’t for purposes of tonight. But what I can say is this, that something happens in our lives where all of a sudden we’ve known the truth, we’ve come along to the truth, we’ve heard studies, we’ve taken notes, we’ve heard the truth, but we’ve never seen it.

11. 4:22

    And it was Job that would say, was it not? I’ve heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. And what Paul was going to experience in Acts Chapter 9 was that he saw the truth for the first time, as it were, in his life, like he’d never seen it before. That’s going to happen to each one of us. The moment comes when we see the truth for what it really is. And this was going to be the moment of Saul’s conversion, a dramatic conversion that was going to have so wide a set of repercussions in the ecclesial world of the time when this man was converted to the truth.

12. 4:58

    And so the record says the erosion was baptized and this 19 says, and when he received meat, he was strengthened. And then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus, and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. Riggle’s going to go on to talk about his work in Damascus and again it’s going to tell us in verse 26.

13. 5:19

    And when Saul has come to Jerusalem, he is saved to join himself to the disciples. But they were all afraid of him and believe not that he was a disciple. In fact, one of the lessons that those of the Jerusalem ecclesia going to have to learn is that the truth was strong enough to change anyone, even a soul, and they were going to have to learn that. Now, what’s interesting for our purposes tonight out of this little section in Acts Chapter 9 is that somewhere between verse 18 and verse 26, when Saul comes to Jerusalem, somewhere in between those verses, Paul, I’m going to call him Paul. Throughout tonight’s study, Paul made a visit somewhere else. He made a visit somewhere else.

14. 6:06

    And if you come to the book of Galatians in chapter 1, we’re told, expressly told that he made a visit to Arabia at about this very time in his life. And I want to talk to you about that visit to Arabia tonight. And by the way, if you take good enough notes tonight, what you should be able to do is to get a little box at the bottom of Acts Chapter 9 headed up Paul’s visit to Arabia. And you should have a summary of the findings of tonight marked as a little marking box at the bottom of that chapter in the Acts of the Apostles.

15. 6:37

    Now, do you see what it says in Galatians chapter 1 and verse 15? It says maybe, maybe verse 13 for connection. So you’ve heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews religion, How that beyond measure I persecuted the ecclesia of God and wasted it and profited in the Jews religion above many my equals in my own nation being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father’s. In fact, what we’re being told by the way, about Saul is that this man knew the Bible inside out and back to front and upside down.

16. 7:12

    He could recite it, recite it blindfolded. In fact, even if he was a good Jewish boy, and I’m quite sure that Paul was a very good Jewish boy, he would be able to recite the Torah from memory and probably a good chunk of the prophets as well. This was a man that knew the Bible intimately. But verse 15 says that when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace to reveal his son and me, he was going to learn something quite different. He was going to have to relearn his whole perspective on the Scriptures that he already thought that he knew very well. Now, what’s interesting is verse 15 and Bible echoes. Can anyone tell me where that comes from? He separated me from my mother’s womb. We’re not going to turn the passage up, but can anyone tell me where it comes from?

17. 8:01

    Because it’s a Bible echo. Anybody know? It’s Sorry, where was that? I had a a plethora of answers. Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Isaiah 49. I’ll go for the American version. That’s what I’m talking about. Isaiah chapter 49. Now look, don’t turn it up because we’re going to come back to it later on. But tell you what, you might want to take a note of that because Isaiah 49 becomes the key Old Testament passage that’s going to permeate the whole book of Galatians.

18. 8:34

    And there was a very good reason for that, which we can’t come to by and by in our study tonight, but we might look at later on in the course of the week. Just tuck, tuck that away. Isaiah 49, He separated me from my mother’s womb. Yes, verse one, Isaiah 49 verse one.

19. 8:51

    Now you see what it says, goes on to say in Galatians one, it says, Well, when God decided to do that, to reveal verse 16, His son in me, that I might preach among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went out to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus.

20. 9:12

    Now do you notice that he went to Arabia and then came back to Damascus? Now hold your hand in Galatians. Don’t lose Galatians, but come back to Acts chapter 8, Acts Chapter 9. Because what we’ve got to try and decide now is when about in the course of the story of Acts Chapter 9, that mysterious visit to Arabia took place.

21. 9:35

    What verse in Acts Chapter 9? And by the way, you won’t know unless you have Acts 9 open to find out what verse it might be. So Acts Chapter 9. Let’s see what the possibilities might be. So first of all, it says in verse 25 of X9, the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket. And verse 26 says, and when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he has saved to join himself to the disciples. So I suppose it’s possible that in between verse 25 and verse 26, he may have gone to Arabia.

22. 10:09

    He could have gone down to Arabia before coming back to Jerusalem. That’s a possibility, isn’t it in the text? I don’t think it’s right, by the way, but it’s one of the possibilities. And there’s another one a bit earlier on, because do you notice what it says in verse 22? It says Saul increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews, which dwelt in Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

23. 10:31

    And after many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. And it’s a possibility, isn’t it, that in between verse 22 and verse 23, you think he could have gone to Arabia then? After all, it says many days had gone past, so perhaps that’s the time for the mysterious visit to Arabia that Galatians chapter one, verse 17 tells us.

24. 10:56

    But there’s an earlier possibility, and that’s this in verse 19. I think this is the right one. And it says this. When he received meat, he was strengthened, full stop. Then was Saul’s certain days with the Damascus, with the disciples that were at Damascus. Now you see that word then? That word then in the Greek is the equivalent of the phrase it came to pass.

25. 11:23

    It’s used in a number of places in the Acts of the Apostles. And what it suggests is that there’s a moment of time here that’s elapsed and a new event has now occurred. So there’s a gap halfway in the middle of verse 19. He received meat. He was strengthened, full stop. And then it came to pass that Saul was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus. Now, I’m going to tell you tonight that I think that’s exactly where Paul’s visit to Arabia takes place, right smack in the middle of verse 19.

26. 11:54

    Do you know how I know that? Good Bible reading. How do I know that? Because of something that Galatians said. Now what was the keyword in Galatians that would bring us to the conclusion that that’s the moment of time that Paul visited Arabia? What keyword in Galatians? Well, let’s read it again, verse 16 of Galatians 2, when God asked me to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen.

27. 12:28

    Immediately. Now you see that immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, I went to Arabia. Now that keyword immediately. The word youtheos tells us that this is the very first thing that the apostle Paul did. And as soon as he was baptized, he was off to Arabia first thing. And by the way, what did Arabia symbolize? Verse 16?

28. 12:52

    I conferred not with flesh and blood. In other words, Arabia symbolized a period of solitude and isolation. He was going to go into isolation and he did it straight away, says Galatians chapter, chapter 1. It’s the first thing he did. Galatians one, verse 17. So Acts 9, he’s baptized, he receives meat, he gets up and he goes straight to Arabia, and then he comes back to Damascus after that, which by the way, is what Galatians says. Do you notice that verse 17, I went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus?

29. 13:29

    Well, that’s what Acts says. He comes back to Damascus and he spends time with the disciples. Now here’s the really interesting question. Why was Paul going to Arabia? Well, I’ll give you a clue. There’s only one other place in the whole of the New Testament where that word Arabia is used,

30. 13:59

    and it’s in this very in this very epistle. It’s in Galatians chapter 4, isn’t it? Galatians 4, which is the only other place where the word Arabia is used in the entire New Testament, says verse 24. Galatians 4, which things are an allegory? For these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar.

31. 14:23

    For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. It says, aha. So he wasn’t just going to Arabia, He was going to a particular place in Arabia. In fact, he was going to a mountain in Arabia. He was going to Mount Sinai. I think that’s exactly where where Paul was intending to travel on this occasion.

32. 14:43

    And he’s going to Mount Sinai expressly that he might have a time of revelation by Almighty God to prepare him for the greatness of the work that lay ahead of him. Now that’s interesting because now come back to the first of Kings chapter 19. And of course, those of you that know your Bibles well enough will know that the moment we turn up first of Kings 19, we’ve come back for the life of why guess who? Elijah the prophet.

33. 15:12

    And what does the record say concerning Elijah? Well, the record says this. And I just want you to notice a couple of critical words in this particular chapter. We’re going to be told that the first five, he lay first of Kings 19. He lay and slept under a juniper tree and an Angel touched him and said, arise and eat.

34. 15:31

    And he eats so that he might be strengthened for the journey to come to whore of the mount of God. This nine says this. And he came to the unto a cave and lodged there, and behold, the word of Yahweh came to him. And he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

35. 15:46

    And he’s going to receive a revelation from Almighty God. And that revelation to Elijah is going to prepare him for the ministry of Elijah yet to be fulfilled in an age to come concerning the second Exodus, the work that Elijah has not yet accomplished. And God was going to deal with him on Mount Sinai to prepare him for that great work of exodus that he was going to accomplish on behalf of the children of Israel. But this nine says He came thither unto a cave. But that’s not what the Hebrew says. The Hebrew says he came to The Cave. Now that’s interesting.

36. 16:31

    The Cave. Now what cave would that be? What thinkest there? What cave do you think he came to? Well, the answer is it’s a cave that someone has already been in. A cave that the records already referred us to. The Cave. Moses was in a cave. Whereabouts Me recersen. Give me biblical evidence.

37. 16:58

    By the way, you’re absolutely right. Exodus 33. So Exodus chapter 33 says and just I just want you to notice a couple of things that Exodus in the Exodus record. So now we’ve got Moses, Exodus 33, who of course speaks to the Angel of the presence, the Angel of the presence that would graciously deliver them.

38. 17:20

    And he said, verse 21 of Exodus 33. And Yahweh said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a Cliff of the rock, and I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.

39. 17:36

    And I’ll take away my hand. And thou shalt see my back pass, but my face shall not be seen. There’s The Cave that Moses retreated into when the divine manifestation of Almighty God came before him in the form of the Angel of the presence. And by the way, Moses is there receiving a revelation from God which which lasted how long? Exodus 34, verse 28.

40. 18:01

    How long was he there in communication with the deity? He was there with Yahweh 40 days and 40 nights. Take a note of it. 40 days, 40 nights. So he’s there in The Cave of the rock receiving revelation. By the way, if I was to say to you, what’s the greatest thing that Moses did? What would you say?

41. 18:22

    The greatest work that Moses accomplished, what would it be? What would you say? And the answer really should be, shouldn’t it, that he led the children of Israel on an exodus out of the land of sin and darkness into the Promised Land. He was the leader of the exodus. And just as Elijah was going to be the leader of the second Exodus, Moses was going to be the leader of the first exodus. And he’s there in The Cave of the rock that he might be encouraged by the revelation of God for 40 days and 40 nights to prepare him for the great work that he was going to fulfil. Now I want you to come back to the first of Kings 19, because that’s obviously The Cave that Elijah is in. But this time I want you to get your left hand in first of Kings chapter 19, and in your right hand come to Acts Chapter 9. Again, back to the story of the apostle Paul. And do you know that all of a sudden, when you read the record carefully, you’ll suddenly find that what’s happening to the apostle Paul is exactly what the story of Elijah is all about out of the first of Kings 19.

42. 19:36

    And the Spirit is bidding us recognize that there is a parallel of circumstance going on here in the life of the apostle to the life of the great prophet. Now, I want you to notice certain key things in the King’s record. By the way, do you notice what it says verse 8, that he went on the strength of that meet for 40 days and 40 nights. You’ve heard that phrase before.

43. 19:59

    40 days. And 40 nights, that’s associated with Moses’s time at the mountain. Now we’ve got a 40 days and a 40 nights associated with Elijah’s travel to that same place of destination. Now you’ve got your hand in those two places. X9. First of Kings 19. Excellent. Now let me show you the keywords. First of Kings 19 Verse 7 the Angel touched him. Verse 8 he arose.

44. 20:37

    Verse 8 Again he went in the strength of that meat. 4 Keywords The Angel touched him, he arose, he received meat, and he went in the strength of that meat. Now look at Acts Chapter 9, verse 17. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house, and he put his hands on him. So the first thing that Ananias did was he touched him, he touched Paul.

45. 21:04

    And as a result of that verse 18 says at the end of the verse, he received sight and he arose. And verse 19 goes on to say, and he received meat and was strengthened. And now where do those words come from, do you think? All out of the record of the first of Kings chapter 19.

46. 21:25

    He was touched, he arose, he received meat, he was strengthened. The apostle Paul is engaging in the identical spirit to that of Elijah as he goes to where? To Arabia, to Mount Sinai. I’ve got no doubts in my mind that the very place where the apostle Paul went was the same cave to receive a revelation from Almighty God to strengthen him for a work that was about to be done.

47. 21:52

    Oh, let me show you something else interesting. Now that we’re back in the New Testament, now come back to March. What was that keyword in Galatians? How soon did the apostle make this journey to Arabia? Immediately. That’s the key. What’s the keyword of Mark’s gospel? It’s the same word, isn’t it? Euthyos. Immediately.

48. 22:10

    Here we look at Mark chapter 1 because he’s the same Spirit in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we’re told, aren’t we? In Mark chapter one, verse 11, there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness, and he was there in the wilderness. Matthew’s record says chapter 4, verse 2. Why for 40 days and 40 nights?

49. 22:41

    Where have you heard that phrase from before? 40 days and 40 nights, says Matthew chapter 4 and verse 2. So the Lord Jesus Christ experienced this same withdrawal into the wilderness at the beginning of his particular ministry. Now, I’m not sure that the Lord went down to Mount Sinai. I don’t know that that’s the wilderness that the Lord went to.

50. 23:05

    What we do know, of course, is that even if He didn’t go to Mount Sinai, later on He did go to a mountain. And Luke 9 says that when He was on that mountain, two men came and spoke with him. Now who were the two men that spoke with him on the mountain? Moses and Elijah.

51. 23:25

    And only Luke tells us what they were talking about. You know what they were talking about. Only Luke says they were discussing His exodus that he should accomplish in Jerusalem. So what was the exodus that Jesus was going to accomplish? He was going to accomplish the exodus from sin and death itself, to lead captivity captive and to bring people out into the promise of immortality itself. Was Christ going to lead an exodus? Yes.

52. 23:54

    And on the Mount of Transfiguration, says Luke 9, the 2 champions of the exodus, Moses and Elijah, are on the mountain discussing that with him to encourage the Lord to stand fast and to stand firm with what he was about to do in Jerusalem. Here’s the question, what do you think Paul was going to do? He was going to lead an exodus out of the Gentiles, wasn’t he? He was going to bring the Gentiles out of Pagan darkness from serving Satan into the light of the truth, says says Acts chapter 26.

53. 24:29

    He was going to lead an exodus out of the Gentile nations, and in order to prepare the apostle for that work of exodus, he goes down, I believe, to Sinai in Arabia for a period of seclusion and isolation and study, that he might be prepared for that marvellous role that he was about to perform on behalf of Almighty God. What do you think Paul did when he got down to Mount Sinai? We’re not told how long he was there for. Would you like to have a guess?

54. 24:57

    If you said 40 days and 40 nights, that would be a reasonable guess, wouldn’t it? Before he went back to Damascus, I think it could have been actually 40 days, not three years. 40 days and 40 nights would be a reasonable guess. OK. Are you thinking three years? Sorry. Yeah, it does say that in the in the Galatians chapter 1. But I think if you if you reflect on the record, it’s more likely that he spent some time down there and then came back to Damascus.

55. 25:27

    And then after the three years were up, he he makes a trip as Galatians chapter 1 says. So it doesn’t matter. It’s not essential, but it was certainly a period of time similar to the experience of Moses and Elijah that he might. What do you think Paul did there when he was down there day after day after day? What was what do you think he was doing? Tell me what you think he did every day. Relearning.

56. 25:50

    Yeah. Relearning. Yes. Relearning what? Yes. Find the Gentiles, finding the Gentiles and the Lord prophets. And before he would find the Gentiles and Lord prophets, what else would he find? 1st? He had to find Messiah in the law and the prophets like he’d never seen him before. The scales had to come off his eyes.

57. 26:11

    And I can imagine Paul down there praying to God, thinking, studying. Do you think he needed his books? This man could recite scripture backwards. He would run through scriptures and as he ran through them in his mind, he’d think of course, of course, the red heifer, the story of this, the story of that out of the law. And all of a sudden Messiah would start to appear as if the scales had come off his eyes, and he had to rethink, rethink. And as he started to do that, he would knit the Scriptures together.

58. 26:40

    That would be absolutely convincing to the apostle Paul that Messiah was indeed there and that he was none other than Jesus of Nazareth. By the way, an Angel came to Moses on Mount Sinai. Which Angel was there? By the way, which Angel appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai?

59. 27:02

    Probably Michael, the Angel of the Presence. Why? Because it relates to matters concerning Israel. Which Angel do you think manifested himself to Elijah in the same cave? What do you think? Probably Michael, because the substance of Elijah’s work and ministry yet to come as a restoration. Another exodus of Israel, and Michael has responsibility for the affairs of Israel.

60. 27:29

    Now here’s an interesting question. What Angel do you think appeared to the Lord in the wilderness? Be careful. Now, which one? Gabriel. Yes, I think more likely Gabriel. Why? Because Gabriel has affairs concerning the Messiah, and now the Lord in the wilderness is being prepared by contact with an Angel instructed by Almighty God to prepare his Son for the work of exodus yet to come. Now that’s interesting.

61. 27:57

    So we’ve got 2 archangels, Michael and Gabriel, the one associated with Israel, the other associated with the work of Messiah. Do you remember the words of Acts chapter 8, the things concerning the Kingdom of God? That’s the Angel Michael. And the name of Jesus Christ, That’s the Angel Gabriel. Which Angel do you think might have appeared to Paul when he he was at Sinai in Arabia?

62. 28:20

    If an Angel had appeared to him, which I think did, by the way, which one? What think is there? Either both or Jesus? Either both or Jesus. That’s a sneaky answer. Now, I’d be more definitive than that. Here’s the clue before you answer, Toby, what was Paul going to be and do so therefore, Gabriel, go to the top of the class.

63. 29:05

    We’re in fellowship. By the way, if someone finds a verse that says it’s Michael, I’ll gladly bow down. But it seems to me to be appropriate that it may have been the Angel Gabriel if there was a manifestation to the apostle Paul at that time, because he was going to be Christ to the Gentiles and he needed to be strengthened for that particular work that he was going to undertake.

64. 29:27

    So what’s interesting about this? Now come back to Acts Chapter 9. Let me show you something interesting because Acts Chapter 9 says this. So let’s read again from verse 18, and we’ll just insert our little visit to Arabia on the way through X9, verse 18. Immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith and arose and was baptized.

65. 29:56

    And when he received meat, he was strengthened full stop and immediately he went to Sinai in Arabia to receive the revelation that would be granted unto him. And when he comes back Verse 19 goes on to say, and then was sold certain days with the with the disciples which were at Damascus and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogue that he’s the son of God.

66. 30:19

    But all that heard him were amazed. And so it is not the sea that destroyed them which pulled on this name in Jerusalem and came hit her for that intent that he might bring them bound unto the chief priest. Can you just imagine what must have happened? What happens is of this, Saul arrives into Damascus, breathing threatenings and slaughter. He’s struck on the way by the bright light of the of the vision of our Lord Jesus Christ.

67. 30:40

    They bring him in by the hand. He’s lying on a bed for three days. Ananias comes in and touches him. He looks up into the face of the grace of God. He’s baptized, he’s given meat and good. He’s gone, disappeared. Where’d he go? Gone. And all of a sudden, some period of time later, he’s back in Damascus. And the next day the synagogue knew all about the fact that Saul was back big time because he was preaching what verse 20 that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And they were amazed that heard him. Now see what verse 22 says.

68. 31:16

    Saul increased the mourn strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. Now you see that word proving in Acts 9 verse 22. That’s the word in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 2 which says, let me just read that to you. It’s in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 2, and it says that their hearts might be comforted being knit together in love, being knit together in love. Colossians 2 verse 2.

69. 31:54

    And it’s the same word in Ephesians 4 verse 16 when it talks about the body of Christ and the members being compacted together by that which every joint supplies. So you see what we’ve been told in Acts Chapter 9 verse 22. Paul, Saul increased the more in strength and and confounded the Jews, proving that this is very Christ.

70. 32:15

    He was able to knit something together. What was he knitting together? He was knitting scriptures together in such a powerful way that the Jews couldn’t. He went into the synagogue and trounced them. He absolutely trounced them. They just didn’t know how to handle this chap. He had every answer available, every scripture they could show them.

71. 32:38

    He knew the answer to turn that to the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament and he could knit that together like they’ve never heard before. Now do you know, I think so wonderful about verse 22. Two things, two things that are wonderful. Do you remember we said there’s an allusion to Isaiah. What was it?

72. 32:53

    Isaiah in Galatians Isaiah. Now come and have a look at Isaiah chapter 49 and see why it’s such an appropriate illusion. In the in the Galatians story, you see Paul was called separated from his mother’s womb says Galatians. And as soon as God called him from his mother’s womb, as it were to reveal Christ, he goes straight to sign up. That’s what Galatians chapter 1 says. Now look at the force of this in Isaiah chapter 49 verse one says, Listen, O iles unto me, and how can ye people from far Yahweh have pulled me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother?

73. 33:32

    Hath He made mention of my name? There’s the illusion, by the way, in Galatians chapter 1, He separated me from my mother’s womb. Now look at the next verse in Isaiah 49. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft.

74. 34:00

    In his quiver hath he hid me. Do you know where Paul was really was when he got to The Cave in Sinai? He was hidden in the shadow of Yahweh’s hand, wasn’t he down there in The Cave? Almighty God sharpened him to be a sword for the truth and polished him to be an error as far as the, the, the, the, the battle against sin and the battle for the truth was concerned.

75. 34:31

    And in the solitude of that place, the apostle would be hid in the shadow of God’s hand that he might be polished and sharpened and prepared. And the proof of that, is it not the proof of that as Acts Chapter 9, that as soon as he turns up a Damascus, he he launches into the synagogue, And boy did they feel the cutting edge of that sword.

76. 34:51

    He was proned to sharps by his experience down at Sinai. And So what that proves to me, Acts Chapter 9 verse 22 saw them crease the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt the Damascus knitting together, that this is very Christ. What that proves is that his time at Sinai had borne fruit, doesn’t it? It proves that it’s time in seclusion had borne fruit. When he comes back, he’s a transformed man, ready to lead an exodus out of the Gentile nations into the hope of Israel. And the man of God that’s been selected is prepared just as Moses and Elijah and the Lord Jesus Christ have been prepared. So you with me so far right now.

77. 35:49

    Here’s the lesson. You know, we get baptized and we say to ourselves, well, I’m in the truth now. I hope I can be useful in the truth one day. Hope God can do something with me. I hope it’s something I can do. Useful for the truth?

78. 36:16

    Well, if that’s all you do, you won’t be useful. I think that the powerful lesson to me out of all this is that these men were the great men of God, and before they launched on the great work that God had in store for them, they had to engage in a time of preparation for that labour.

79. 36:40

    Even the Lord went into the wilderness for 40 days, for 40 nights before that labour began of leading an exodus out of sin and death. Now, if these men had to do that, what do you think we need to do?

80. 36:57

    We’re not going to accomplish anything on behalf of Almighty God unless we’re prepared. And the lesson of the story, young men, is there’s only one place we can prepare, and that’s in Sinai. We’ve got to get to Arabia. We’ve got to get into the wilderness. We’ve got to get into solitude. We’ve got to get down into The Cave, and we’ve got to spend some time there.

81. 37:21

    Otherwise we won’t be ready for any work of God. Now, this is the lesson. It’s going to require commitment and I’ll tell you why. Because we’ve got an instant age of iPods where we can plug in anything we like. We can go onto the Internet and learn anything we like. But you can never know God like that.

82. 37:38

    There are no instant answers with God. It takes time and it takes meditation before the voice of God is heard speaking. So let me tell you what happened. John Martin came to New Zealand in 1966. I was too young for that. But he came again later on, and that’s when I heard him on.

83. 37:58

    Elijah and I went home and I was 17 and I made the decision that I needed to get into Sinai. I didn’t think of those words at that time, but in effect, that’s what I needed to do. I knew that I had to get my head into the words seriously. So I went home and on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday nights at age 17, I did 2 hours study each night, Monday to Friday. I did 8 hours on Saturday and I did 8 hours on Sunday. Bible study.

84. 38:25

    Serious Bible study. And you know what? I’m really sorry I didn’t do more because there’s still 1000 things that I want to know out of the Bible and I haven’t had time to get to them all yet. And now I don’t have the time that I had when I was 17. When you’re 17, you think you haven’t got any time. You’ve got oodles of time, believe me. And I’ve got lots of things I want to study. I wish I’d done more, but I’m glad I’ve done what I have done. So what you’ve got to do is this, when you go, when you go back from the, from the College of the Prophets back home, you’ve got to think about this and you’ve got to say, am I prepared to make that commitment of actually withdrawing into sign?

85. 39:11

    What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to go home, you’ve got to go to your bedroom, you’ve got to make up a sign and the sign says you’ve got to put it on the door outside. Gone to Arabia back in 40 days and a little bit at the bottom. PS Mum still called me for tea. And you’ve got to retreat into that room and shut the door. And when you shut the door, which by the way is really retreating into The Cave, isn’t it? When you do that, you’ve got to get your Bible out and your desk prepared and you’ve got to focus yourself in prayer and then spend some serious time in the Bible in solitude. If you’re ever going to find God, it’s the only place where you can do it.

86. 39:55

    But what I can promise you is this, and Brother John knows this more than I do. There are moments when you’re alone in your room and all of a sudden scriptures flow together

87. 40:17

    and you feel as if the face of God has just passed by you. And you felt that you heard the whisper of ail should I speaking in your ears as if the Angel of the Presence was right there.

88. 40:34

    Because all of a sudden something in the Bible came to life, as if scales had come off your eyes. And you fall on your knees and you thank God that you’ve discovered that marvellous truth. And I’m telling you now, you’ll only find them in Sinai in the quiet and the solitude of that place where we where we retreat for Bible study. Now, these men had a destiny with God to do that. And we’ve got to do the same thing. And we’ve got to make time to do it. We’ve got to make time on our calendars that says, well, that’s the time that I have as an appointment with God. And it doesn’t matter when it is. If you decide that Wednesday nights you’re going to do Bible study and that Wednesday night Bible study starts at 8:00, then it doesn’t matter if someone rings and says we’re going to the beach, we’re going for a BBQ, we’re playing volleyball, we’ve got a party.

89. 41:29

    You look at your diary and say I’m sorry, I can’t come. I’ve got an appointment with God down in Sinai. About the blessing of that appointment is that only in that place will you hear the voice of God whispering to you the secrets of His truth. This is what transformed these men. As Brother John says, what we need is young men who can do just that and go home and fire up themselves and their families and their ecclesias with such passion and zeal for the truth that it’s preserved into the next generation and the generation beyond.

90. 42:21

    And we’ll only do it if we’ve got men prepared to travel to Sinai. Now, wouldn’t that make a little good little box at the bottom of Acts Chapter 9, Paul’s visit to Arabia? I think that’s exactly the spirit of the College of the province.

91. 42:52

    Thank you for listening to the good Chris Adelphian Talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk and brightened your day. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes. We are on all major podcast platforms and also on YouTube. If you enjoyed this particular talk, please share it with someone else who you think might enjoy it too. For show notes on the talk you just listened to, visit [email protected] or check out the Show Notes section of your podcast player.

92. 43:22

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93. 43:37

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