Your Past Does Not Get The Final Word

Speaker A: To this brand new day. This Description links daily dose of Inspiration for Wednesday, October 7, 2026 and today is National Chocolate Covered Pretzel Day. Now I like a good chocolate covered pretzel. I don't care if it's one of them mini pretzels or if it's one of those giant pretzels or even one of those pretzel sticks that got all the little jimmies and sprinkles and all that other little brightly colored stuff. I like them all. So go out and get yourself a chocolate covered pretzel and enjoy Chocolate Covered pretzel day. Today, October 7th back in 1943, Oliver north was born and on this day in 1816, the very first double decker steamboat had docked in New Orleans. Its name was the Washington. So there you have it, some interesting things in case you're a trivia buff out there. Today's Bible reading. We're getting into the Book of Second Kings as we're studying through the the history of ancient Israel today, Second Kings, chapters one through four. And today we're going to continue talking here in Galatians chapter number one. We've been talking yesterday and today's going to finish up this talk about the calling of Paul and how the message that Paul had preached in his missionary journeys, that he preached in it through his letters, where he got that message and how he he got it through divine revelation, through the time he spent with God, with Jesus out there in Arabia. And yesterday we looked at his calling and how he got his message from God and had the message he preached wasn't based on man or man's teachings or man's doctrines, things like that. It was, it was given to him by revelation of God. Now we're going to get in, starting in verse number 18 of Galatians, chapter number one. We're going to start to see now what happens when Paul came back from his time in Arabia with the Lord. Now Arabia was most likely the desert back then. We know Arabia today. Modern day would be the Saudi Arabian Peninsula area, those countries that's in there with Saudi Arabia. So it was most likely a desert region when Paul was there. And that's important in the fact that a lot of times we, we read in Scripture, like with Moses, like with Jesus, that they would go into the desert and that's where they were tried. That's where their faith was made, was tested and made perfect. And Paul, I believe, had went through the same thing. But let's pick up the story here. We're in Galatians, chapter number one, I'm going to start reading in ver. 18 and we're going to go down through verse number 24. Scripture says then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him 15 days. But other of the apostles saw I none save James, the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they had heard only that he which persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me. All right, let's break this down here. We see here in verse number 18. Now we're going to be we're going to do a lot of flipping around today. We're going to be looking in Acts and in Galatians chapter one, we're also going to be looking in Acts chapter nine. Because the events in Acts chapter nine kind of mirror what Paul has been talking about here. And he says here now, after three years, this three years that he's talking about was the three years that he spent in Arabia, remember verse number 17. Neither when I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me, but I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem. So Paul's conversion, he went into Arabia, he returned and went to Jerusalem. And and after three years that he was in Arabia, he comes back. Now let's go back here to Acts chapter nine. Acts, chapter nine. And let's look here at verses 19 through 22. 1922. Now this, this event we're going to look at takes place right there after his conversion. You know, in Acts chapter nine, we read the version or the conversion of Paul, and we see here that he was blinded after he had that conversation with Jesus. And they took him into Damascus, where he met a man named Ananias who laid his hands on him, and he had received his sight. And now in verse 19 is where we're going to pick up the story here, 19 through 22. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he was the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed and said, is this not he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither to for that intent that he might bring them bound to unto the chief priests? But Paul increased more in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelled at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. I'm going to stop right there because Paul was changed. He was a changed man. Remember, if we go back to verse number one and two of Acts, chapter nine, it said, yet Saul and Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. Paul was a changed man. And you see, when we get that experience, that salvation experience with Jesus, we're not the same person we were either. And that's why discipleship is so important in the local church, is so that we're growing and becoming the people God wants us to be, not be stagnant and continue living in the way that we were living in the past. And Paul, now, he received his sight, he got his strength, and he immediately started talking about Jesus. He started preaching about Jesus as to how Jesus was the son of God. And verse 21 says, all that heard him were amazed. And they said, isn't, Isn't this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem and he came hither for that intent? They're saying, wait a minute, this, this is a guy that was out there, out there breathing these threatening things that was coming and arresting us and trying to stomp out this way. And now here he is in our church and he's preaching Christ. And the people were amazed at that. But that's the power of God to change people's lives and not be the same as they were. And then we get to verse number 23 here in Acts chapter 9. And Bible scholars believe that between verse 22 and in verse 23 here in Acts chapter 9 is the three year gap while Paul was in Arabia. Remember back here, verse 17, I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus. So it's like Luke, the writer of Acts here, put on the pause button while Paul was out there getting the knowledge and the revelation of God. And apparently he came back. And verse 23 says, and after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him, talking about Paul. He came back, he preached, and I believe his message now incited people to anger, just like Jesus's message incited the chief priests to anger the Jews. The chief priests here took counsel to kill him. They didn't like his message. They didn't like that he wasn't the one going out there. And doing their dirty work for him. They got upset about that. Three years after his conversion. Paul then goes and. And sees the disciples, goes and goes and sees Peter. That's what he said here in verse number 18. And he abode with Peter for 15 days. I'm sure he was telling Peter the message he had received and the calling that God has put on his life. And. And then we see back here in Acts, chapter nine. Yes, I should have kept my finger there. We see here back in Acts chapter 9. Let's pick it up again in verse 29. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Grecians. But they went about to slay him. Now here we go again. The Jews are ready to slay him. Now the Grecians that are there in. In Jerusalem is ready to slay that and slay him. And we see here if we continue, which, when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea and. And sent him to Tarsus. So let's go back actually, Galatians chapter one. Let's go again, verse 21. Afterward, I came to the region of Syria and Sicilia. Those are cities that was in the region of Caesarea that. That they sent Paul to send. In verse 30 of Acts, chapter 9 says, they sent him forth to Tarsus, which was Paul's hometown, which was also the capital of that region. Paul went down to that region. And look at what it says here In Galatians chapter 1, verses 22 and 23, he says, and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they had heard only that he which persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which once he destroyed. Again he's at his hometown. He's at his home region, unknown to the churches there, unknown to the churches there. By face. By face. But his old life, they knew all about that. They knew all about him persecuting them in times past. And now they're hearing him preach the faith which he once destroyed. And verse 24 says, and they glorified God in me. They glorified God because of the work that Paul was doing, because he was preaching Christ, because he was no longer the. The destroyer of the Christian faith, but now was the builder of the Christian faith. And they praise God for that. What's our application for today? Number one? We have to touch back to what we discussed yesterday is where are we getting our message from? Where are we basing our belief? I guess is what I want to say. Are we basing our belief in the 66 books of the Bible? Or are we basing our faith on our traditions and the things that we hold dear? That's the first thing we got to think about. Paul went out and he got his message directly from the Lord. You know, this might be a controversial thing to say. It might, might anger some people here. But I think too often we put too much emphasis on college educations than we do on, on God's calling on our life. I'll just make that point and I'll just leave it right there. We are, we are not, we are not disqualified by our past or we are not defined by our past. Paul's past was destroying the church. Paul's future was building the church. We are defined by what God has called us to do. And that's exactly what Paul did when he had his time in, in Arabia. He comes back, he starts preaching people. God have said in his message in the scriptures back here in Acts chapter nine. I don't think I read that one, but it said that, that, that the, the chief priests were so upset about Paul's message that they had to lower him in the basket so that he could escape. That was verse 25 of Acts chapter 9. They had to lower him in a basket. Then he goes to Jerusalem and preached a message and got the Grecians upset that they were ready to slay him. Did that deter him from doing God's work? Absolutely. People get offended by my teaching and that doesn't stop me from doing God's calling. The important thing is fulfilling what God has called you to do. God called Paul to take his message to the Gentiles and that's exactly what he did. What's God's calling on your life? And most importantly, are you doing it? Think about that as you go through this day. And remember, get into God's word and allow God's word to get into you. Then share that word with someone today. Have a blessed day.