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[0:00] Proving that this is very Christ. It may be said that the experience of Saul of Tarsus was unusual and special.

[0:19] At the same time, the experience that he had must surely in its measure be the experience of everyone that is born again of the Spirit.

[0:33] It does draw our attention to the power of God and how quickly a person may be translated from the opposition to that which is in favor.

[0:53] However, it may perhaps be suggested that none was ever more at enmity in the demonstration of it against Christ than Saul of Tarsus.

[1:09] And yet, how quickly the Lord was able to turn that man's heart so that it was very soon that he preached Christ in a synagogue that he is the Son of God.

[1:27] And as he continued, he increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus proving that this is very Christ.

[1:41] Experience, what we call experience, may certainly be said to be a life spent in proving this is very Christ.

[2:00] It is not just proving from the scriptures that this is very Christ, though, that is very valuable and important.

[2:14] But it is proving in our day-to-day experiences that this is very Christ as we feel our own personal need of no lesser person than Christ himself.

[2:30] Saul, indeed, could speak with such certainty that this is very Christ because the Lord had spoken to him from heaven.

[2:51] We may not have it in such a demonstrative way, but is there any other way? That we can begin to know Christ, but that he should speak to us from heaven.

[3:10] It is not with an audible voice without, so much as an audible voice felt within. There were those, as we read in this chapter, that were with Saul when the words were spoken to him.

[3:33] And he fell unto the earth and heard a voice, saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

[3:45] But in the seventh verse we read, and the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice about seeing no man. Now, that is a little differently rendered when Paul recounts his experience in so much close detail in other parts of the act of the apostles.

[4:14] They thought it thundered. There was a sound. But the voice did not come to them. Sometimes we may hear a sound, but if the voice doesn't communicate words which we understand, then it is nothing more than a sound.

[4:37] If Paul then was to prove that this is very Christ, he proved it right at the outset.

[4:52] We do not begin to prove Jesus Christ after we've been in the way some time. God sets us proving Christ right from the beginning.

[5:05] And how this is so clearly demonstrated in the apostles' experience. I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And he was beginning to prove that this was Christ.

[5:19] And what was he proving? He was proving that Christ was greater than he was. Have we yet found anybody that is capable of turning us from our evil causes, from our fleshly designs, from that which is recommended by men, and yet have had to prove a mysterious power, an underlying influence, words penetrating into our soul.

[6:07] Sometimes in these words of the apostle to the apostle, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. Every Pharisee in the congregation is a persecutor of Jesus Christ.

[6:27] A Pharisee is one that trusts in his own works, is covered with self-righteousness, is thankful that he or she is not as other people are, and therefore they have no need of Christ.

[6:47] And Saul of Tarsus had no need of Christ. We all, without exception, must have known a time when we had no need of Christ.

[7:01] You may say, well, I've never objected to coming to chapel or church, as the case may be.

[7:15] But that doesn't indicate that you have felt a need of Christ. There are many people that are found in the congregations.

[7:29] When God looks down upon them, he finds that comparatively few feel a need of Christ. Paul had attended the synagogue on many an occasion without ever feeling a need of Christ.

[7:45] But now, on this occasion, he was suddenly brought to feel a need of Christ. The one that he persecuted, the one that he derided, the one that he thought so little of, the one that he was willing to cast down and to join those who only consulted to cast him down from his excellency, was the one that had overcome him.

[8:15] The one that had brought an remarkable change in his heart and had brought him to this, to feel a need of Christ.

[8:28] People may speak of various pointers that will indicate a beginning, but whatever course God may take, whatever means he may use, it brings us all to this one point as to whether those means and that course has brought us to feel a need of Christ.

[9:00] Christ. Then, we are off, so to speak, on the right foot. Now, you will have to answer in your own conscience before God and maybe, bless God, if you look back to a beginning that was contained in a need of Christ.

[9:33] And then, then, following from that, it will be constantly, or experience, to prove that this is very Christ.

[9:49] The one that has overcome in the beginning, is he capable of overcoming you all the way through? The one that has stopped you in your mad career, will he control you for the rest of your life?

[10:07] We are proving that this is very Christ because the one that stopped us, the one that showed us our great need, the one that showed us that we were heading for destruction, the one that showed to us that we were hell bent, is very Christ.

[10:31] And we prove that because no one else can convince us that we are hell bent. We may indeed engage in what we might perhaps refer to as religious debate, discourses, questions upon doctrine, but that will not convince us of our need of Christ.

[11:02] God's love. But the apostle, here, his purpose and his life at this particular time was devoted to proving that this is very Christ.

[11:18] He expresses himself in one of his epistles like this, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

[11:37] This is the language of one that has proved Christ and proved that this is very Christ, proved that this is the one that God has sent.

[11:51] in Israel, in the days when the Lord Jesus came at the time of his first advent, there was a certain amount of expectancy that the Christ would come.

[12:12] How few observed it. Are we amongst the few that are proving that this is very Christ?

[12:23] We can go from Paul to Mary. She pondered these things in her heart. And as she pondered, she was proving that this was very Christ.

[12:39] We would speak carefully. We would not speak with any undignified expressions. But at the same time, may we say this, are we proving that this is very Christ, not only in our beginnings, but in our continuance?

[13:02] first of all, are we satisfied that Christ is God's anointed, the one that should come?

[13:16] It is not something to be accepted simply as something that must be accepted and is accepted by every Christian. without any testing, we go to John the Baptist and there we find him in prison, a course that he never expected to follow.

[13:44] How different our view of the future is from God's view of the future. and it was so with John the Baptist and it made him wonder whether after all this was Christ.

[14:04] And so he sent his disciples and he said, art thou he that should come? Or look we for another. After all my strength and fire and assurance that I was the forerunner of the Son of God, yet have I made a mistake?

[14:25] This is God's method of John the Baptist proving that this is very Christ. And it will be God's method with you and me in proving that this is very Christ when as we have already mentioned this evening God does things that we look not for.

[14:52] men's minds for the most part work alike in developing a plan in general terms that is.

[15:07] But God's thoughts are higher than ours. His ways are higher than ours. and we prove that this is very Christ when those ways and those thoughts are worked out in our experience.

[15:29] Our best resolutions must wholly be crossed. Our fairest pretensions must also come to nothing.

[15:43] And they must be waived. Nor can we expect to be perfectly saved till we find ourselves utterly lost. And when we find ourselves utterly lost we shall raise the question as to whether there is one that can save.

[16:05] Not just speak in terms of Jesus Christ as a saviour. That's not proving this is very Christ. But this is proving that this is very Christ when God shows us our lost estate and we feel it.

[16:28] Do we often feel lost? Then we feel our great need of Christ. Who can make us feel lost?

[16:40] No less than very Christ. And when we feel lost, lost, in our first call and our early experience, yes, but what about more recent times?

[17:03] Have we felt lost? lost in the way? We know not which way to take. We seem to think we've taken the wrong way.

[17:20] And all the while God is moving in a mysterious way, bringing us to do that which the apostle did, proving that this is very Christ. Christ.

[17:33] And when we look to the cross, when we trust in Christ crucified, as we must do continually, in vital experience, then we are proving that this is very Christ.

[17:54] Do we need salvation? then we must prove that this is very Christ. And certainly be assured that this is God's anointed.

[18:10] Now, John the Baptist was answered in a way that was indisputable. The Lord did not just speak the word, he did not say go and tell John I am he.

[18:32] And that should be sufficient. But he said, go and tell John how the lame are healed and the eyes of the blind are opened and the poor have the gospel preached out today.

[18:52] And that will be sufficient to know that this is very Christ. that will be sufficient for John that he will know that he has not been deluded, that he has not been mistaken.

[19:06] But this trial, this unexpected experience has been sent upon John that he may prove that this is very Christ.

[19:23] Old nature, if we can just look at John the Baptist for a moment, we're delighted in being God's forerunner. God's And if it isn't kept down, we should deflect the light unto ourselves instead of unto Christ.

[19:40] And so John was put in prison. We may wonder why in our soul's experience at times we are put in prison. Whilst we sit there bemoaning our state and our condition and our darkness and our coldness and the general atmosphere is all cold around, we are proving that this is very Christ.

[20:07] The light is not to shine upon us. The light is to shine upon him. And in the preaching of the gospel, this is where the light is to shine. Proving that this is very Christ.

[20:22] God's anointed one. But then, deriving our knowledge from what the Lord said to John the Baptist, proving that this is very Christ, is seen in his performance.

[20:51] In the first chapter of Jeremiah we have these words, I will hasten my word to perform it. And Jeremiah had a strange vision before those words were spoken.

[21:09] And yet the vision had much meaning. And it was to prove that this is very Christ. Christ. This is very man.

[21:25] Christ is. And this is very God. It is Christ in all the glories and sympathies of his human nature.

[21:40] It is Christ in all the glories of his divine nature. and we have to prove as we go along both sides of Christ if I can put it like this, both natures of Christ.

[22:03] Now we need to make this point very clear that Christ is one person and that person is the son of God and he has all power in heaven and on earth to perform whatsoever he will.

[22:26] Saul of Tartus had many future opportunities proving in his own experience that this is very Christ. He wasn't deceived.

[22:39] The one in whom he trusted was verily man and verily God. Now have we proved that Christ is verily man touched with a sympathy with him?

[22:55] He knows our feeble frame, he knows what fierce temptations mean for he has felt the same. Can we therefore bear our testimony to Christ that he is verily man?

[23:13] Because he kind of tends to speak to us as a man may speak to a man with all the understanding of our poor nature.

[23:27] But then proving that this is very Christ, have we seen, have we felt, that this truly is the Son of God?

[23:39] And this point will appear to have been sealed upon Saul's heart in the early stages, straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God, the eternal Son of God, God now, God in time past and God forever more.

[24:04] But then how was he to prove that? That this was the eternal God, that Christ was the eternal God.

[24:20] Mr. Hart, I think what's it like this, that Christ is God, I can avouch him for his people cares, for I have prayed to him as such and he has heard my prayers.

[24:34] And by these means we prove that this is verily God and verily man, yea, the very, the true, the indisputable Christ.

[24:49] Now have we proved it in our prayers, prayers which have been put up to one who must be no less than God, one who is able to do great things and holy is his name, one who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

[25:22] This is proving that Jesus Christ is the Son of God with power. power. We have made little progress in our profession if in the first place we have not felt the need of a Christ with power and in the second place to have the blessed power of Christ exercised towards us.

[26:01] He holds the weak believer up in a distressing hour. You speak of Christ. Is it very Christ you speak of? Is it Christ with power?

[26:17] Is it Christ that died upon Calvary that in so doing he put away the sins of his church? And did he put away your sins? And in so doing was there this proving that this is very Christ.

[26:37] Christ that came with one purpose in mind to save his people from their sins. And none other would do.

[26:53] Let us not think that any other person but Christ can save us. in our proving what the apostle was proving that this is very Christ we may at times go through painful experiences.

[27:11] we may have the painful experience of trusting in ourselves or the painful experience of trusting in a person putting up confidence in a guide cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils or whereof is he to be accounted of.

[27:44] And then again the best of them is as a briar and as a thorn hedge bitter experiences when we seek to put our confidence and our strength rest upon anything less than very Christ.

[28:05] So we may come into those painful and dark situations and we may wonder why we are there or because we are trying experimenting thinking that something less than very Christ will be adequate for us.

[28:28] We may get along in our day to day matters for some time but suddenly we are brought face to face with this I must die and this is where you'll want to prove that it is very Christ although it may not be a palatable thought to our nature yet there is nothing better than for us to be aware that this might be our last day upon the earth because under the power of the spirit of God it will energize our very soul into wanting to prove now that this is very Christ who is able to save me from going down into the pit able to save my soul when the enemy when Satan himself is intent upon grabbing it now if the enemy comes in like a flood and if he suggests to you that I will have you in the end you'll need nothing less than very Christ to deliver you out of his hands and then proving that this is very Christ will involve our proving that Christ is the truth everything that he has spoken everything that is written in the scriptures will be the words of very

[30:16] Christ we cannot rely on the words of any because however gracious however upright however honest people may desire to be there are certainly occasions when because of our infirmities and our weakening infirmities we are not always able to convey the truth as it really is there are some points that we may forget and hence the truth as much as we desire it to be presented in its fullness is distorted and this is certainly so with respect to the truth as it is in Jesus how many men have distorted the truth as it is in Jesus simply because of their weakness sometimes and sometimes of course because they do not possess the grace of

[31:30] God and what they say is the outcome of their carnal mind truth but the Lord is the God of truth and every word that he speaks is truth and in this way we prove that this is very Christ can we take one or two examples there are many precious words in the truth in the word of God which are truth indeed and are made over to the people of God sometimes there are the words of the precept there are the words of the promise there are words of prayer that are put into our souls proving that this is very Christ and the words that he speaks then are words that are right but in proving that this is very

[32:38] Christ speaking the word of truth is also proved because it is a living word now has a passage of the scripture dropped into your soul and does it still live I say does it still live can you venture to say I'm assured of that may we repeat that Christ is God I can avouch and we need to come to this point and for his people cares for I have prayed to him as such and he has heard my prayers now we've offered prayers presented our desires come before God in our troubles has it been to very Christ have we got off our knees and then immediately tried to deal with our matters ourselves and maybe gone quite contrary even to what the scripture has said and so we may go on and we may be asked the question you proving that this is very

[33:52] Christ could the creatures help or ease us seldom should we think of prayer and then if we think of prayer is it empty prayer do we think we ought to tell somebody we feel that we can pour out our soul to God and then act as though we'd never done so by these strange means the Lord is proving what he is that his word is truth and that his word is life are there important words of the scripture that might well be brought home to us when we're severely tempted by the devil none can pluck you out of my father's hand that is the words of very

[34:53] Christ because they're words of authority none can pluck thee out of my hand I can merely cite the circumstances this evening I cannot give the power I wish I could but do we know the power that has manifest that this is very Christ speaking in our souls 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 so there were two things that at this stage even enabled the apostle to prove that this was very Christ he had seen him now it is quite true for us to say not with our mortal eyes that we beheld the Lord but nonetheless there's a revelation and our faith will sometimes see him as though we saw him with our natural eyes believe that this is very

[36:04] Christ when we felt it most when we've been with the Israelites in the 107th Psalm they fell down there was none to help and they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out of all their distresses and they were proving that this is very Christ one that could deliver them one that could help them one that could save them out of their distresses there aren't many days that pass but what we have distresses of some kind or another and these distresses arise very quickly at times unexpectedly we wonder why they've come to prove that we worship the very Christ that we worship God in Christ that very

[37:08] Christ is in our hearts the hope of glory and because of this the life of God in the soul is maintained thus that which his goodness begins the arm of his strength will complete proving that this is very Christ by the power that he exercises and that power is a constraining word we find the love of Christ constraining us the love of very Christ Christ the true Christ Christ with substance the love of Christ constraineth us do we prove have we proved that this is very Christ because of that love which constrained us in accordance with the words that he spoke if you love me keep my commandments this is very

[38:17] Christ one way in which we prove it but then the Lord restraints have we proved that this is very Christ in that way that the young man did in the scripture where he said I will not go but afterwards he repented and went his own spirit was restrained in order that the power of God's constraining spirit might be upon him are we bent on a course and God restrains us a course which if we look at it is contained in this high mindedness that is a great word in the scripture be not high minded but fear has very

[39:24] Christ spoken that to you and not only restrained you but brought you to a spirit of confession and repentance and you felt this blessed and important aspect of very Christ that all that he does all that he speaks everything in which he engages has love in it or shall I say all these things are in love and this is where we prove that Christ is verily so there are many Christ that rise up we have warned about it in the scriptures this is the deciding factor that very Christ is the God of love very Christ as the God of love was manifested when

[40:25] Saul of Tarsus was stopped on the Damascus road when the Lord spoke to him when the Lord opened his eyes have we an experience along these lines in anything then it's the love of very Christ that has done it and our eyes you know are still being opened sometimes people may criticize others because they do not see wrong in something that the others may see wrong in and in this connection I thought of those words in Isaiah where we read and it shall be line upon line precept upon precept here a little and there a little we are gradually learning our eyes are gradually being opened to see the glories of very

[41:44] Christ how long we may seem to grope in darkness can you apply that word to yourself we grope for the war like the blind well it's a mercy to have our eyes opened a little that we can see where the wall is so to speak to see where Christ is are you groping to Christ wonderful word in this same act of the apostles if so be that we may feel after him now if you cannot see him are your hand of faith feeling after him oh to see very Christ more clearly he is the one that can save me the one that can pardon my sins the one that can wash away my sins what the sins of years ago the sins of today the sins of years ago yes they need to be washed away but how much more the sins of today and what about tomorrow's sins if the sins of the past were all washed away and we were left with a future to preserve in freedom from sin we should not make heaven but oh my soul with joy and wonder see for sins to come there's pardon too and very

[43:41] Christ is now revealed as one that knows and declares the end from the beginning and you can see that the sins you will commit in your dying hour very Christ knows about and very Christ has died to put them away everyone the sin you commit with your last breath as much as the sin that you committed with your first breath when you find the depth of sin in your members and discover that those sins are put away their faith believes it we are proving that this is very Christ because when he died upon Calvary it was as an acceptable sacrifice it was truly receptive to the father justice was satisfied there was nothing more to be done and this is very

[44:51]  Christ the words of Christ with a layered voice he said it is finished proving that this is very Christ words on the cross wonderful indeed but when your poor soul is in sin trouble soul trouble it will be very Christ in your experience if these words are spoken into your soul with the same power as they were uttered than Godבה been brought about proving that this is very Christ there is only very Christ that can bring us unto a sure foundation that can bring us to the place that Jeremiah speaks speaks about when he said it is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord and if we quietly wait quietly wait mark you not just wait but quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord it will be we are proving that this is very Christ does the power of very Christ work in your soul sometimes when you are not just waiting but you are quietly waiting and if your nature should be just the reverse will you not be proving that this is very Christ doing something in you which you know you could not do yourself so the love of Christ and the power of Christ will produce in our soul a patient waiting for Christ and all the while we are probing