and verse one. Acts chapter nine and verse one. And Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughtered against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priests, 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. As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, And I want you to notice this, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 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. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? The Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. The men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. I want to speak on the double call. I've known over the years that there have been double calls in the Bible. I've noticed them, but I never had thought of speaking on them. Ten times over you have a double call on this occasion. It's Saul Saul. Also, I want to say the very tone of that call indicates its meaning. You could say on this occasion the Lord Jesus could have said in an angry tone, Saul, Saul, why persecute us thou me? No, it wasn't an angry tone. I believe it was a soft, loving appeal. Saul, Saul, why persecute us thou me? The Lord on this occasion and these other occasions we're going to refer to, there are ten of them in the Bible. The Lord is speaking direct. He's not using a prophet. He's speaking direct on these occasions. The Spirit of God never speaks audibly. The Spirit of God speaks through an earthen vessel. How does God speak to us today through His Word? And He may speak to us, because the Spirit of God is using a human vessel. But on these ten occasions, God is speaking direct to the individual. And so he says on this occasion, Saul, Saul, why persecute this thou me? Now the first one in the Bible I want to refer to is a connection with Abraham. And I'm going to read this, just a verse or two of it in Abraham in Genesis twenty-two concerning Abraham. In Genesis twenty-two, ten and eleven, And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knight to slay his son. The angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad. Neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son. thine only son for me. How wonderful on this occasion that God should call to Abraham out of heaven. Back in those days, men tried to prove their love, their devotion, their dedication to their deities by offering their son. You remember we read in the scriptures, that I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body, for the sin of my soul. And so men and women back in those days, they wanted to demonstrate to maybe friends and those around that they loved their God. In those cases they were just idle, but they tried to prove their love by offering even their firstborn son. What a sacrifice. God is wondering, I wonder if Abraham loves me with the same devotion that these other people love their idols. They're willing to give their son. And so God says, Abraham, and it tells you in verse one, he's going to test Abraham, he's going to prove him. Abraham, I want you to take your son in. and go to a land of which I will show thee, and offer him on a mountain that I will show thee on. What a request. God knows, knew how Abraham loved Isaac. Isaac was a miracle child. Abraham was a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety when Isaac was born. It was a miracle. And all Abraham's future was vested in this boy. How Abraham loved his son, A.E. All his future was vested in this child. And to be made an awful much such as a man must have struck deep into Abraham's heart. But you see Abraham's prompt obedience He got up and he went. He saddled his ass. He took young men with him. He took the knife, the fire, and the wood. And away they went. Finally, God showed them the mount, where he wanted them to build the altar. Abraham built the altar, and he put the wood in order, and he bound Isaac his son. When he did that, he took the knife. It must have been with a trembling hand and a tear-filled eye. That Abraham drew back that night when he's going to plunge it into the heart of his son. But Abraham came. It tells you that in Hebrews, that Abraham believed God, believing that God would even raise Isaac from the dead. If he did stay in that night with the blood of Isaac, God will give him back to me, because God said he would have promises that would build him high to his son. But Abraham was going through this, and he lifted back his arm. And then that miraculous thought with that knife in mid-air, God said, Abraham, Abraham, lay not thine hand upon the lad, for now I know that thou fearest God. you do love me Abraham and if thou did not withheld thy son thine only son what a wonderful moment that was in the life of Abraham you see his beautiful face his willing sacrifice no other men in those days they never got their son back when they sacrificed their sons to their idols none of them got their sons back that Abraham did. God let Abraham go to the very edge of the cliff. A split second would have been too late. God knew when to stop. God said, Abraham, as far as I'm concerned, you went through with him. And God gave him the reward. God said, Abraham, because you've done this, I'm going to bless yours thee. Look now toward heaven, and behold, the stars and the sand upon the seashore. So shall thy seed be. And indeed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. Yes, here's Abraham's reward, because he was willing to give what was the nearest and dearest to him in life, A.E. Abraham, Abraham. A double call. Then there's another one in your Bible, and it's Jacob. You want to read about this? It's over in chapter forty-six and verse two. And here's Jacob, poor Jacob. He thought his son Joseph was dead. And Jacob was heartbroken. as he listened to the story of his other sons, who told of finding Joseph, coat of many colors, stained with blood. They killed an animal and stained that coat with the blood of the animal. And they showed that coat to old Jacob, and he said, My son is without doubt meant in peace. And Jacob had no idea that Joseph was alive. until these boys who came back from Egypt and said, Joseph is alive. He's governor over all the land of Egypt. Old Jacob couldn't believe that. That's impossible. But finally, Jacob is convinced. He looks at the wagons of provision that Joseph had set. He said it is enough. Joseph, my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die. And he makes the trip. That night God appeared in a vision unto Jacob. And I'm going to read this. And God speak unto Jacob in a vision of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said unto Jacob. that I am the God of thy Father Abraham. Fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee unto Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again. Here is the call of confirmation and promise. The first call was the call of faith to Abraham. Now you have a double call of fulfillment of the promises, the confirmation of the promises. Jacob might have thought, well, God made those promises to Abraham, my father, how he was going to bless them and his seed. God says, Jacob, what I said to Abraham is good with you. I will reiterate that promise. I will bless your seed. You're right in the direct line leading to my son, who will eventually come into the world. That night the Jacob would asleep, he had the vision. And God called out Jacob, Jacob. How touching that must have been. Jacob heard that voice, the voice of God, not an angel, but the voice of God, said Jacob, Jacob. Here's the call of confirmation. And God fulfilled that promise. He went down with Jacob, and he came back with Jacob, and God fulfilled those promises made unto Jacob. Then you have another time when those words are used. It's over in Exodus chapter three. Here you have another call. It's a clause. to divine leadership. This is in connection with Moses. Moses, you remember, was at the backside of the desert, taking care of the sheep for his father-in-law. Whether it was in the evening, we know not, but as Moses was there, he saw something unusual. He saw a bush burning, but it was not consumed. I don't think it was a crackling flame in that bush, but a quiet glow in the desert. And as Moses saw, he said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. And as Moses turned aside to see this unusual sight, this great sight, a bush not consumed. This is strange. But God says, Moses, Moses, draw not nigh hither, but remove thy shoes from off thy feet for the place where thou stand is holy ground. Here Moses was stopped. There is a display of God's holiness, God's power, God's promise. Moses, I'm going to use you. as my channel, my instrument, would bring up the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses had eighty years of age. Old Abraham was a hundred and fifteen when God tested his faith. Now God is saying unto Moses, he's eighty years of age. A Moses life is divided into three forties. He lived to be a hundred and twenty. Forty years in Egypt learning the wisdom of the Egyptians. Forty years in the backside of the desert, and forty years leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. So the time has come. Eighty years. Now says God, Moses, you've been looking after this flock of sheep in the backside of the desert. I'm going to use you to deliver my people out of Egypt. And so he says, Moses, Moses. How wonderful that was. I'm going to read this to you. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside, he said unto him, Out of the bush, Moses, Moses, Moses says, Here am I. God said, Draw not thy height, nigh hither, but off thy shoes from off thy feet. For the place were on those stances. It is holy God. It is a lovely comparison when you think of the prodigal in Luke fifteen, back to the far country. living with the swine and the hogs, and he wants to come home. When the Father saw him coming, he ran and he embraced them. And he said to the servants, he said, put shoes on a seat. Put on the best road. He was great. When we try to face God in our own merit, God says, you're approaching holiness. Remove your shoe, your unworthy, your undeserving. You are approaching dearly. Remove thy shoes from off thy feet. For the place where on you stand is holy ground. Yes, that was true under law. But under grace God put the shoes of salvation upon our feet. You know it's remarkable That bush should have been consumed. Because deity possessed it. God was in the flame. And we read later on the Bible about the good will of him who dwelt in the bush. God was in that bush. But the bush was not consumed. God was in Christ. That was God's deity. In Christ humanity. Had God dwelt in a sinner? sinner would have been shriveled to a kinko. But here is his only son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sinless! And God was in Christ. The day God spoke to that bush, the day God speaks to us through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How wonderful it is. And here is the call to divine leadership. Moses, I'm going to use you. lead my people up out of Egypt Moses got the message the call of leadership then you have another case over in first Samuel three ten you like to know the story of Samuel and this call was relative to a testimony the testimony of Israel as a nation what about in the name O Levi He's on his bed, he's blind, he's dying. The light in the temple is about to go out. And Eli hasn't restrained his son from evil. God says, I'm going to destroy Eli and all his hope. They've no longer a testimony. This is the end of the priesthood of Levi, because of the wickedness of his son. The light is flickering in the temple, a flickering testimony. There was a woman in those days, and she was burdened about the situation. Her name was Hannah. And she said, God, give me a son. I want a son, and I'm going to give that son to you. Maybe that son will be the one that you will use to bring back the offering. that your testimony might be seen again in this nation. And that son was Samuel. Samuel was sleeping one night, and he heard a voice, Samuel. And he got up and he ran to Levi. He said, Here am I. Levi said, I called him up, go and lie down again. Samuel went and laid down. And again he heard the voice. Samuel, he went to Levi. Levi said the same thing, I called him up. Go and lie down with him. The third time, the same voice. Samuel, Levi went the third time and said, Thou didst call me. Finally, I got through to poor old Eli. Why, the Lord must be calling this man. And he said to Samuel, Go lie down again. And if the Lord called him, Say, Speak, thy servant here. Samuel went and laid down. Sure enough, this time a double call. Emphasis. Samuel, Samuel! He says, Speak. He doesn't go to Levi now. He got the direct message from the Lord. Speak thy servant here. And then God revealed to this young boy his mind and will. He was going to destroy the household of Levi. And the hopes of Israel were insanity. What a wonderful call that was. A call to a true testimony. Oftentimes today there's a testimony flickering about the pass out. Because it's Taylor's testimony. Just like in the book of Revelation, you have the seven churches and the Lord walking in the midst of the seven churches. And he warns them about their condition. And he said, Lest I remove, I laugh, said. Only God can remove a testimony. But thank God God can revive a testimony. And on this occasion he did just that through Samuel. Samuel, Samuel. What a wonderful call that was when Samuel as a boy answered the cross and God used Samuel to restore his people, Israel, back to himself. But there's another one, and this is in the New Testament, this is in Luke ten and verse forty-one. Remember the two women, Martha and Mary, and Martha was busy doing the housework and cooking the meals and everything, but Mary, she was at the feet of the Lord Jesus. There she was, loving His presence, hearing His voice. Martha, she goes to the Lord. She said, does not want care that Mary, my sister, had left me to serve her own. Fitter that she come and help me. She's here at your feet. The Lord says, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but Mary hath chosen that good thing which shall not be taken away from her. In other words, the Lord said to Martha, Martha, there's something better than service, and let's worship. And that's what Mary's doing. And I'm not going to tell her to leave me. The Christian's highest occupation is worship. Martha, Martha. When you think of these calls, the first three, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, each one responded in the affirmative, here am I. Samuel responded, speak thy servant here. We don't know about Martha. She didn't say anything. Possibly she got the message. How wonderful when the Lord calls us to the highest occupation on earth, worship. Mark the mark. Service is wonderful. I appreciate that. But there's something I crave more than that. I crave worship. That's why we remember the Lord every Sunday morning here at the chapel. There's something more than just preaching and teaching His worship. That's what the Lord wants. He wants our worship. And so here is the call to worship Martha Martha. Then there's another occasion in connection with a double call and in Luke, twenty-two, thirty-one. You remember, poor Simon Peter. He'd had trouble. And on this occasion the Lord saw trouble coming. And he said, Simon, Simon. In those double call that voice again. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may sift thee a sweet. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. Simon, there's a power in this world other than my power. Satan is loose. He's going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Simon, Satan hath desired to have thee. He wants you, Simon. He knows the day would come when you could stand up and preach to three thousand souls in the power of the Holy Spirit. And they'd be saying, Satan knows what a life, a future I've got for you. And he's going to try and get you into his sift. Satan had desired to have thee, that he may sift you as we go. But I pray for you. The Lord's prayers worked. They saved Simon Peter. And if you're not a Christian this morning, that same sinister being Satan... wants you. Satan hath desired to have thee. He wants, in fact, he's got every unsaved person in this meeting. He's got you. For those who are saved, he wants to get them out of fellowship of God, get them into his still. I thought in reading this one day this week about an instant I heard about a man who went with sand, the colored man, shooting ducks. And on the way to the lake, Sam said to his master, he said, Does the devil ever bother you? Well, the master, he was a deacon in the church. No, I said, the devil doesn't bother me. I don't even know it exists. But that, I don't understand that. The devil laughed at me all the time. Well, he got to the lake, and there were some ducks on the park. So the boss leveled his gun, but they began to run. Two ducks stayed in the water, well hit. Two tried, they were wounded, and they tried to get away, clapping and going, and Sam went, and the boss said, never mind those, we've got to get those who are getting away. Sam started, and then he stopped and said, Boss, I know why the devil is after him. You've got you, but he said, I'm trying to get away. Yes, if you're a child of God and you want to live for the Lord, the devil wants you, he doesn't want you to have that shining testimony. He wants you to be a backslider out of fellowship with God. If there's anything that's a dishonor to God, it's a backslider. One who's known the truth, the life has shown right. But now, the life is under a bed, lazyness, or under a bush of business. Satan hath desired to have thee, but he says, I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. Simon, Simon, here is a call of earnestness and urgency. Simon, Simon, will you listen to me? Satan hath desired to have thee, but he may sift thee as weep. Now we come to the one I read about. over in Acts chapter nine. Saul saw. My, what a story this is about Saul of Pasha's. Do you think of Saul, a bitter enemy of the Jewish people and how he was persecuting them, receiving special orders and going and hailing God's people into prison? casting him into prison, putting some to death. The Apostle Paul, yes, he was a bitter enemy of Christ. He was a bitter enemy of God's people. And he's going to try and exterminate the church. But a voice is heard. As Paul, Saul is on the Damascus Road going up. To try and apprehend more Christians, put them to death. A voice is heard. Saul, Saul, why persecute us, thou me? There was something about that voice. Saul, Saul, why persecute us, thou me? This had a remarkable effect upon Saul of Tarshish. This is the call of salvation. This call meant conclusively that Jesus Christ was in heaven. Saul didn't believe this up to now. He didn't believe the story of the resurrection. No, that Jesus Christ is an apostle and I'm going to kill all those who seek to follow him. But this call from a risen Christ in heaven convinced the apostle conclusively. that the story of these early Christians is true. He is alive. For this living man is speaking from heaven. Saul, Saul, there was authority in that voice. There was pathos in that voice. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Also this Call made it very plain that Jesus Christ was all he said he would be, and was the Son of the Living God. And a Jew didn't want to believe that. But this call convinced Saul of Tarshish, this is the Son of God. Also it made it very plain that this one was the Lamb of God. He's the substitute for sinners. He's the one that bore sin. The sin of the word. The sin of man. This also is associated with this living man at God's right hand. Saul, Saul, why persecute this found me? I wonder if you are convinced that Jesus Christ is alive. He's at God's right hand this morning. A living man. Have you heard his voice? You can hear his voice. Thank God for those of us here this morning who have heard the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through his word, by the Holy Spirit, Saul, Saul, why? Why persecute this thou need, Saul? What have you got against? What have I done? Why do you persecute? Well, I know one thing. when the Lord says, Why persecutest thou me, that went home to the Apostle. Saul, I know your name, and I know your activities. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I know what you're doing. I know you're out to get my people. You've put many of them to death. You've put others in prison. I know what you're doing, Saul. Saul? When you're doing that to them, you're doing that to me. Why persecute us thou me, says this one. The Lord Jesus is accusing the Apostle of Saul of persecuting him. Yes, the Lord says, he that touches you, touches the apple of mine eye. And Saul, for every one you've killed, you've crucified me oppressed. For every one you've hurled into prison you put me in prison. Why persecutest thou me? How that must have come home to the apostle, as he reflects upon all the damage he did to the early church, how he had made God's people to suffer, and to mean to say that I did that to the Lord Jesus, the one speaking to me now, yes, he said so, why persecutest thou me? Think of those words. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. That means the Lord had been speaking to Saul. Saul, Saul, why persecute us thou? It is hard for thee to kick against the golds of the pricks. In other words, the gold was used by the farmer to go down as animal the ox went plowing. I understand sometimes they held it at a certain place And if the ox backed up or kicked, he damaged himself because of that sharp prong of the head, the end of that rope or that claw he had, the gold. It is hard for thee to kick against the trick. Saul, it's hard for you to turn your ear from all you've heard, and your eyes from all you've seen. It's hard for thee to kick against the trick. What about some of you? You sat in this off joy more than once. And the Spirit of God has prodded you, tricked you about your need of Christ. And how wonderful it would be to be saved, damage to your own soul if you're not. And yet you've gone out that door, may be wounded. And your conscience has been touched, and you go out still kicking against the prayer. It's hard for you to do that. Some of you can recall the life of a mother and a father, their godly example and their prayers and counsel. You remember those things, and you recall their advice, their counsel, but you still rebel and kick. against the praise. Instead of following their counsel and their example that beckoned you to follow them. Maybe you've seen a loved one in that casket and it's as though that casket held your aching heart. God was speaking as you're kicking against the praise. Kicking against God's Holy Spirit when he's trying to prod you. You're getting this question set. Yes, says this risen Christ to Saul, Saul, it's hard for you to keep rebelling, keep saying, no, you're only going to damage yourself. You're not going to damage me. It's hard for me to kick against the priest. And then when Stephen got up and laid his marvelous address, to the Sanhedrin and the leading of the Jew, as he followed God's dealings with Israel from Abraham right up to the present. Paul saw the logic of that being a Jew. He knew the Old Testament scriptures. He knew what Stephen was saying is true. Saul, are you going to reject that? You know Stephen told the truth, and yet you turned your back on it. And when you saw Stephen with all that courage and that deeming face when he looked up and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, Saul, are you going to turn against that? And Saul, you remember how he cried out after he was just at the point of departing from this life, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. saw Stephen were praying for you then. You have been persecuting him. Why they laid Stephen's clothes at your feet, and you gave orders for him to be put to death. Saul, you saw all those stone thrown at Stephen. You saw them hit their mark. You saw Stephen with his bleeding battered face and body. And he said, Lord, still made this sin to their charge. He's praying for you, Saul. Don't turn your back on that. It's hard for you to kick against the diggings of the Holy Spirit. What's it going to take to bring some of you to the temple? We've been fighting against God's Spirit for years. God says, my spirit shall not always try with me. It is hard for thee to kick against the thrift. We have to just close with these other double calls. There's one over in Matthew seven twenty-two. The Lord says, this isn't, this is the call of unreality. Not everyone that sheth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God. There are those. and they say very religiously and very piously, Lord, Lord, Lord. Have we not prophesied in thy name, though the preacher? In thy name we've done many wonderful works. In his name? Yes. Some people today claim to do many wonderful works in the name of the Lord. If a man in my presence were to command in the name of the Lord, that demons come out of a man who was trotting at his mouth and he was holding on the ground, and I witnessed the man. He was normal. The demon left him. That's a wonderful work. He did it. The Lord said, I never knew you. That's what he said to those who were preaching, performing wonderful works. And said, my Lord, we've actually taken the communion. He said, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Here is a double call in time. You say, you call me, Lord, Lord. There's no reality to it. The time is coming in eternity when you will say something. We, Lord, Lord, we've done this, we've done the other thing. And I'll say to you then, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I never knew you. The emphasis on that part will be solemn, eternal. But there's another double call in your Bible. Jerusalem, old Jerusalem, Christ, he says that. Jerusalem and Jerusalem, I'll walk them when I've gathered thee together as a hand, I've gathered her brood under her wings, but you would not. What a call that was. The cool Jerusalem. The final one. My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken me? The Lord. Not an angel said this. Not a prophet. But the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God himself, who is talking to his God. My God. My God. Here is the call of desolation. Why hast thou forsaken me? The cry of loneliness. And of all these ten double call, none is so solemn as this one. When the Son of God cried out from the cross in the darkness, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I'll tell you why. God forsook him. that he might not forsake you forever. Christ endured the darkness for three hours that you might endure eternal life. Yet, how serious, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God pursued Jesus Christ when he was bearing your sin and mine in his own body on the tree. And when Christ became... Our substitute. God dealt with him as though he were a sinner, but he won. But your sin and mine was on him. And God dealt with Jesus Christ for three of them. In the same measure he's going to deal with you forever. If you reject this devil call from the Son of God. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? This call is an urgent one. He's asking you why. Why? Can you give me a logical, sensible reason why you're rejecting Jesus Christ? No. Maybe another drag on a cigarette, another drink, another woman, another good time, just one more. One of these days it will all be over. and you'll meet that one, is appealing to you this morning, with emphasis with love. Oh, sinner, sinner, what will you do with Jesus? What will your answer be? Tell the prayer. Our Father in heaven in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come into thy presence, we ask thy blessing on thy word. We thank thee for thy word, for its authority, its clarity, its simplicity, and yet it is profound. Oh, we trust that some precious soul this morning will accept the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Thou doth love them, long to save them, made provision for them. May they accept the Savior be saved. He asks you to know, Lord Jesus, precious name. Amen. Shall we sing in closing, three seventy-six. Three seventy-six. Out of my bondage, Solomon, night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come. Into thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus, I come to thee. Out of my sickness, into thy health, out of my want, and into thy wealth, out of my sin, and into thyself. Jesus. I come to thee. Three, seven, six, if you have received Christ and not cool, come unto us, or if you stand, sickness.