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"My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. 'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me."
(Acts 22:9-11, NIV)
Years ago, I was traveling to preach in North Carolina, and I sat next to a man who was an agnostic. You've got to love traveling on airplanes. You never know who will sit next to you. I try to pray before each flight and ask God to help me be an encourager if I sit next to a believer and that I would share Jesus if the person does not know Him. It is neat to tell people that I prayed for them before they ever got on the plane! The agnostic gentleman asked me, "Why is this Christian faith so important to you, yet I never think about it?" It was a good question, and I responded by saying, "God chose me and saved me so I would tell people like you about Him."
This week, we have been looking into the conversion of Paul. We have specifically probed how Jesus Christ met him and changed him. His spiritual birthday happened on the Damascus Road while on his way to persecute more Christians. We pick up the story in verse 9. Those with Saul heard the voice but did not understand it; they saw the light but were not blinded by it. Paul's conversion did not happen in a vacuum; there were others present who could corroborate his story. This was a true and factual account, not some delusion or deranged lie. (Source: John MacArthur, Acts 13-28: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p. 267)
I just love verse 10. Paul, I believe, is saved at this moment in time. He humbles himself before Christ and believes; he asks Jesus, "What do You want me to do?" Now that is a sign of being saved. He is changed by the power and presence of God. Jesus tells him to go, and he will be told. Paul is saved by faith, and now early on, he will learn to walk by faith. We see this principle of walking by faith throughout the Scriptures. For example, God told Abram in Genesis 12:1 to go and that He would show him the way. We too must be willing to go and start walking in obedience and trust God to show us the way.
In verse 11, we read about those who were with Paul and led him to Damascus. He arrived not as a proud, pompous, religious zealot, set on destroying the Christian faith; rather, he entered the city a broken, humble, and saved man of God who would become the greatest ambassador for the faith he once tried to eradicate.
When you share your story of meeting Christ, follow Paul's example and give the details of your conversion: what your life was like before you met the Lord, how you met Him, and how He is guiding your life today. Be specific and factual. You are an expert on this because it is your story! And remember that a person who has an encounter with Jesus is not at the mercy of a mere human argument.
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