You just don't know what I've done.
You just don't know.
God can't forgive me.
Has anybody ever said that to you?
I really began to think about that this week when I was praying about what I should share.
And it kind of jumped out at me because of Acts 9.
We were looking at the life of Saul who becomes the Apostle Paul.
And he has done some horrible things and yet God uses him.
You know, I don't know where you are or what you've done or where you've been and maybe
you just don't feel like God can forgive you that you can't come back and serve him.
But I've got a good word for you today.
I want to encourage you today.
He is a good God.
He is a good father.
And he's faithful.
And I know that because of these scriptures that I've got pulled up here in the book of
Acts.
Now Saul was a very bad man.
He was murdering Christians.
And he was chasing them down, hunting them down.
And he had done some pretty horrific things.
But God got a hold of his life.
And it was rather an alarming encounter.
He was blind and he lost his sight.
And God had to supernaturally speak to a man, later on I think it's in chapter 10, no it's
in 9, and tell him, listen, you go pray for Saul and he, I don't want to pray for Saul.
Do you know what he's done?
Why would I go pray for him?
And the Lord had to speak to the man and say, go, he is my chosen instrument.
He's the one who is going to speak for me.
You know so many times I think believers have the biggest struggles with their own sin.
What have they done?
How have they failed?
And the good news about God is we all fail.
And we all need to repent when we do.
And the good news is, regardless of who you are and what you've done, the Lord wants to
use you.
Afterwards, God had to start dealing with people that were around Paul.
And this comes from chapter 9, you know, Jesus has spoken to Saul and said, Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?
Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit now that had been birthed into the hearts of the
early church, of the early believers.
And he was persecuting that early church.
He was doing some pretty horrific things.
But down here it says, but Lord, I've heard many reports about this man and all the harm
he has done to your saints.
And he has come here with authority from the chief priest to arrest all who call on
your name.
But the Lord said to Ananias, go, this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before
the Gentiles and to their kings and before the people of Israel.
And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.
You know, when God chose Paul, he knew exactly what he was doing.
He had many skills, he was fluent in languages, it became really advantageous that he was
a Roman citizen.
But even after his conversion, it took a little while for the people around him to believe
that this was really sincere.
And the believers around Paul prayed and asked for confirmation.
And then eventually they got it.
I really don't know who this message is for today, but I believe it's prophetic for someone.
First off, you've got to forgive yourself.
If you repent and you're serious, God will forgive you of your sin.
Then he will start you on a journey just like Paul.
He will start you on a journey just like Paul.
in a certain place, and maybe initially,
the people that are around you are not gonna believe
that what has happened in your heart is sincere.
Keep trusting God.
Keep praying that the Lord will get a revelation,
that the people will get a revelation of what God has done,
that it'll be spoken in their heart,
and they'll understand that this is something sovereign
that he's done in your life,
and then the journey will begin.
And if you follow along here, it was a big process.
I mean, even going on here in the rest of the chapter,
they were all afraid.
There were orders out to kill him.
They had to hide him.
It was a really desperate time,
but God took a man that especially the Jews would not expect.
He took a man who everybody knew his reputation.
They knew who he was.
They knew what he had done.
And yet God took this man.
His conversion was so radical.
They knew it had to be God.
You know, when someone truly gives their life to Christ,
it is so radical.
People don't know what to do with it.
It makes them uncomfortable
because they remember the old man.
They remember the old you.
But if you will allow the Holy Spirit
to do a deep work in your life,
you can step out of whatever your past was,
and you can step into an amazing future with him.
I have seen God do supernatural things
with people you would never expect,
never in a million years.
And you would look at the person and you would say,
that has to be God,
because that is not possible.
But with God, all things are possible.
He can take your life,
regardless of where you are in your life,
regardless of what you've done,
regardless of what your reputation is.
If you will surrender it
and allow him to do a deep, deep work in you,
he will use you to shake nations.
He is a good father.
Thank you for listening today.
Like and share.
And if there's somebody out there
that you think needs this message,
I would appreciate it if you would share it with them.
I'm always honored by the people that message me
and send me little messages and encourage me.
I just want you to know how much that means to me.
They have a great day.