After Apostle Paul accepted the Lord, he went to Damascus and began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. This is a very simple message, but also has tremendous power, which is why verse 21 tells us that all who heard him were baffled. The main reason for the power in his message was his life testimony and his personal change. The most effective form of witnessing is a changed life! When others see the difference in you, they will be surprised by the contrast between the past and the present, which is the most effective evangelism tool. Saul had such a great testimony; he had persecuted Christians and thrown them in prison, but became one of the Christians himself. His testimony was powerful, and when he preached this message no one could resist!
When a person is passionately preaching the gospel and serving the Lord enthusiastically, persecution will come naturally. Verse 23 tells us that the Jews conspired to kill Saul. In Philippians 1:29, Paul clearly spoke of the call to not only believe on Christ, but to suffer for Christ as well. This truth is something that Christians in the present generation may not be able to comprehend. We often think that faith in Christ means we just enjoy all the grace and riches in the Lord Jesus, but we forget that we have to be prepared to suffer for Christ as well. This so-called suffering, which could be persecution by the world, or could be the internal struggle in your heart for the sake of Jesus Christ. This struggle could mean giving up a lot of things that you love in the past. We pray that the Lord will help us and prepare us so that we are willing to suffer for Christ!
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