INTRO: Paul was possibly the greatest Christian leader the world has ever seen. Peter and John were great, but they ministered basically to only Jewish believers in Jesus. Paul was chosen by God to make Christianity a world-wide faith, not just a sect of Judaism. There is much we can learn from the life of Paul. Here are three things God wants us to know:

I. God wants people to believe in the one true Faith (1:13-14).
A. Paul was a follower of Judaism.
What is Judaism, and how is it different from Christianity?
From the NIV study Bible: "Judaism is the Jewish faith and way of life that
developed during the period between the OT and the NT."
Mark 7:5-9 "the traditions"
Judaism is based on the "oral traditions" and the Talmud, not the Bible.
B. What should be our attitude toward people of other faiths?
C. Paul was very zealous for Judaism (Acts 8:1-3).
D. We must be committed to reaching even religious people with the Gospel.

II. God calls all Christians to be His servants (1:15-16).
A. God had "set Paul apart from birth." (Consider Jeremiah 1:4-8)
B. Paul was called "by grace."
C. Jesus revealed Himself in a vision (Acts 9:1-6).
D. Paul was given a specific ministry, Apostle to the Gentiles.
E. God has some kind of ministry for each of His people. We need to
get a servant attitude.

III. We all need to grow in the Faith (1:17-24),
A. Paul met Ananias (Acts 9:7-19).
B. He went to Arabia (SE of Damascus).
C. He returned to Damascus and preached (Acts 9:20-25).
D. He went to Jerusalem to meet Peter (Acts 9:26-29).
E. He went to Tarsus (Acts 9:30-31), and was absent from Judea 14 years.
F. He won many to Christ, upset the religious establishment, and
the Christians praised God because of him.

CONCL: Are we servants of Christ? Are we growing in our Faith and service? May the Lord help us to do that!