The conversion of Paul - A full account

[rockytopva]

I always love reading the story of the conversion of Paul. It is like the Lord Jesus just plucked him out of the devils hand. I have mixed in Acts 9 and 26...

Acts 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

2 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.

3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Acts 26:16 ... for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

Acts 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?

22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:

24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.

25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.

26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.

30 Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplie

 

[rockytopva]

I like the conversion of Paul because I experienced the same thing as an unbeliever...

I first saw the light of day at a Marine Corps base in Camp Lejeune. My mother was a Marine brought up Pentecostal and my father was a Naval medic brought up Catholic. As a boy I use to enjoy the times my parents would drop me off at my grandmothers and I would take in all the beauty of their small Virginian farm. The people on mom’s side of the family were very poor, but lived very well, almost like a visit to the old Walton’s home. We as a family moved from place to place until we settled down in the Ann Arbor Michigan area in the 1970’s. My parents bought me a Yamaha dirt bike and I would have tons of fun riding both winter and summer.

One Sunday, while riding my bike in the early AM a church bus stopped and the driver yelled at me that I needed to be in church. The man’s name was Rod Moxely and the church was called the Fellowship Baptist church in Whitmore Lake, Michigan. To make a long story short the whole family ended up getting saved, the church expands, and attendance skyrockets from 80 to over 400. During this time as a teenager I would go on youth trips where the Holy Spirit would touch my heart. I went up for salvation many times as it always produced a spiritual sensation joyful and clean. We did have a revival at that time in which an evangelist really convicted the hearts and people would pray earnestly in the prayer rooms after church. I must say the Baptist had a whole lot going on for the children, lots of fun events that left me with a spiritually clean feeling every time and very challenged. All of the events were decent and well organized.

All I knew growing up was the Baptist church. I was convinced very young that the Baptist doctrine was the most superior. I am afraid I was rude to fellow Catholics and honestly believed that speaking of tongues was of the devil. The only thing I knew of Methodism was that they did not believe in drinking or playing cards, so I was not interested.

It came to pass that Rod Moxely passed away, the church experienced political trouble and the deacons would end up getting a guy nobody liked. So, the attendance plummeted, the congregation fell into natural things, and I would spend the rest of my teenage years working at a restaurant. On referring to the lost generation, I basically fell in with them. I then began to experience a growing lost feeling and instability of Spirit. Which is not a plus in this ‘lost generation,’ especially when folk are unstable as Christians! As Christ is our rock we should have a spiritually strong spirit as well as mind!

After graduating high school I decided to stay the summer with my Grandmother here in Virginia. I would get a job washing dishes in the morning and would put up hay in the evening/afternoon. There I began to get a taste of a totally different lifestyle. The people would work hard Monday-Friday, go to town on Saturday morning, some kind of constructive activity Saturday afternoon, and we had Saturday night prayer time at the church during the nights. Sundays were a day that the people would go to church, they would not work on Sundays, and return to church Sunday night There were also blue laws keeping places of businesses closed on Sunday. You could set your watch on their righteous routines, which I would later discover were Methodist ways handed down from the mid-1700’s. The area seemed to fit the old Tina Turner song “Nutbush City Limits:”

That summer I would put up hay with a QC analyst who kept the joy of the Lord alive in his heart all his years. He would shout in church, shout at home, and shout out in the hay field. I have never seen such joy in all my life. Not only was there a joy, but there was a richness in love as well. The people would really let you know that they loved you. In the old TV show the Waltons the family would talk to one another before going to bed. I have since learned that this was because the houses were so small. But despite the houses being small the people lived decently and in great love, joy, and peace.


Dallas Linkous... When that man shouted in church (which was often) it would penetrate the soul as well as the ear!

So I fell in with them. I would go to the revivals and prayer meetings and live among the people. The services at the Pentecostal Holiness church were at this time very lively. People would shout, run the aisles, fall out in the Spirit, speak in tongues, and then wait for an interpretation. They would have prolonged alter services and would crowd the petitioners and encourage them to tarry and wait upon the Lord. There were times that the old guys would sit back in the pews weeping, and if they made eye contact with you they would declare, as souls around the alter fell out in the Spirit… “The Holy Ghost! The Holy Ghost!” There were souls who would fall out in the Spirit and would have to be carried out of church.

At the end of that summer we had a good revival in which the Lord seemed there in a mighty way. On reading the book, “Run Baby Run,” by Nikki Cruise, I felt a voice telling me to put the book down. I paused, and then continued again to read. The voice said again… “Put the book down.” I slept in my Grandmothers living room on an old fold away cot by the open living room door. The Katydids seemed to be singing very loud that night. There in my Grandmothers clean linens I heard the Spirit speak again, “Where is all the stress, worry and hatred?” In which, upon examining my heart, there was nothing there but pure beauty. I thought to myself. “Oh my! I got exactly what those people got!” I would spend the rest of the summer rejoicing with the people and in revival until I went back to Michigan later that September.

I took some tangerines over to a sister in Christ this Christmas who also would respond vocally when the Spirit of God touched her heart. When she opened the door the whole place looked and smelled clothes line clean. This was the nature of the old Pentecostal Holiness people. Their houses were small and they were clean in heart, body, and mind.

 

[Rocky Wiley]

My conversion,

My mother was a preacher’s daughter. When I was born my grandfather was the pastor at a local Pentecostal church. By the time I started school my grandparents had moved out of state. Since my mother did not attend any church, about the only time I would go is when my grandparents would come to town or when we went to visit. I remember these times at church to be very vocal with a lot of shouting and spirited worship.

When I started high school we had moved to a small town a few miles from where I was born. My next door neighbor was just one year younger, and we became good friends. He and I would attend the local Baptist church on a pretty regular basis. We even joined the church around the same time. By the end of the school year we packed up and moved back to our home town. I did not see or hear from my friend again.

After spending time in the military, I met my future wife and a few years later we moved out of state where we raised our family. By the time our oldest left home to go into the military I had lost my job. We moved back to our home town where our youngest boy would start his ninth grade.

I found a job with a local company where one of the employees was a preacher. We would discuss the bible during the week and I felt that to continue the conversations with him, I needed to learn more about God. I bought the bible on cassette and read along with the orator as he read. After reading all the way through I knew there was a God and I needed to know him better.

A few weeks later we went over to visit my mom and step-dad. The conversation moved to the bible and more about God. My mom was attending the church that her dad had pastored and she invited us to come. Thinking that I would rather find my own church, she pointed out that my friend from my first year of high school was now the pastor of that church. I was surprised but excited to hear it, so we went to church with them the next Sunday.

What a service we had that day, never had I felt so much love. I even found myself crying during the service.

Within the month, we as a family, my wife, my youngest son and I were all baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. A few years later my oldest son was also saved.

God never gives up on us, no matter how far away we go. What extent will he go for you? I can see much of the same from Rockytopva. I know, in my case, what looks like coincidence to some, by making my pastor my friend before he was a pastor, was not a coincidence. Nor was it a coincidence that I was baptized by my friend in the church my grandfather had pastored.

To God be the glory!

 

[rockytopva]

My conversion,

My mother was a preacher’s daughter. When I was born my grandfather was the pastor at a local Pentecostal church. By the time I started school my grandparents had moved out of state. Since my mother did not attend any church, about the only time I would go is when my grandparents would come to town or when we went to visit. I remember these times at church to be very vocal with a lot of shouting and spirited worship.

When I started high school we had moved to a small town a few miles from where I was born. My next door neighbor was just one year younger, and we became good friends. He and I would attend the local Baptist church on a pretty regular basis. We even joined the church around the same time. By the end of the school year we packed up and moved back to our home town. I did not see or hear from my friend again.

After spending time in the military, I met my future wife and a few years later we moved out of state where we raised our family. By the time our oldest left home to go into the military I had lost my job. We moved back to our home town where our youngest boy would start his ninth grade.

I found a job with a local company where one of the employees was a preacher. We would discuss the bible during the week and I felt that to continue the conversations with him, I needed to learn more about God. I bought the bible on cassette and read along with the orator as he read. After reading all the way through I knew there was a God and I needed to know him better.

A few weeks later we went over to visit my mom and step-dad. The conversation moved to the bible and more about God. My mom was attending the church that her dad had pastored and she invited us to come. Thinking that I would rather find my own church, she pointed out that my friend from my first year of high school was now the pastor of that church. I was surprised but excited to hear it, so we went to church with them the next Sunday.

What a service we had that day, never had I felt so much love. I even found myself crying during the service.

Within the month, we as a family, my wife, my youngest son and I were all baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost. A few years later my oldest son was also saved.

God never gives up on us, no matter how far away we go. What extent will he go for you? I can see much of the same from Rockytopva. I know, in my case, what looks like coincidence to some, by making my pastor my friend before he was a pastor, was not a coincidence. Nor was it a coincidence that I was baptized by my friend in the church my grandfather had pastored.

To God be the glory!

Thank you for sharing that!