{"podcast":{"title":"Awake Us Now","slug":"awake-us-now-3481","podcast_index_feed_id":3481,"rss_url":"https://awakeusnow.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"https://www.awakeusnow.com/","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/0/c/f/b/0cfb11e159b4b02d/logo.jpg","author":"Rev. Christopher Dodge","episode_count":1141,"summary":"Awake Us Now is a body of believers who: WORSHIP the Triune God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Praise Him with joy and thanksgiving for He is God and He is good; WALK by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the clear teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and the clear declaration of the Scriptures. Such a daily walk is a far cry from mere religion or \"church as usual;\" WITNESS to Jesus Christ our Savior in daily life situations. Take seriously His call to make disciples. Be alert to the opportunities God provides to encourage and mentor others in the Christian life. Utilize the developing technologies to reach a new generation with the timeless Gospel of Christ.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-20T06:19:46.864902+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/awake-us-now-3481"},"episode":{"title":"Dig Deeper - Acts Chapter 9: Persecutor Persecuted","slug":"dig-deeper-acts-chapter-9-persecutor-persecuted","published_at":"2026-07-28T15:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/awake-us-now-3481/dig-deeper-acts-chapter-9-persecutor-persecuted","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/awake-us-now-3481","url":"https://awakeusnow.libsyn.com/dig-deeper-acts-chapter-9-persecutor-persecuted","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/awakeusnow/Dig_Deeper_-_Acts_Chapter_9__Persecutor_Persecuted.mp3?dest-id=246214","summary":"We dig into Acts 9:15-16: \"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.\" This isn't about Saul being punished for who he used to be, but rather there is a cost to following Christ, but we see Saul understanding it is worth every penny of the cost. We see persecution taking place right after his conversion. As Saul went from synagogue to synagogue preaching of Jesus, people didn't trust him and wanted to kill him because they felt he was guilty of blasphemy against God by claiming Jesus to be God's son. They saw him as a religious traitor. Acts 9:23-30 ⁃ Conspiracy to kill him in Damascus ⁃ Shunned in Jerusalem ⁃ Befriended by Barnabas ⁃ Received by the Apostles ⁃ Conspiracy to kill him by the Hellenistic Jews ⁃ Returned to hometown of Tarsus In 2 Corinthians 11:23b-27 we read of his imprisonments, exposure to death, beatings, stonings, whippings, shipwrecks, and being in constant danger, facing daily his concern for the body of believers. This news of Saul's persecution causes us to: 1. Admire him for his courage in sharing the Good News of Jesus. 2. Recognize that he was saved from hell by direct intervention of Jesus. Jesus' intervention resulted in Saul knowing everything he has is a gift from God. We too have sinned and are saved by Jesus resulting in the free gift of salvation - and so we live for Him. We may suffer like Saul/Paul - under the enemy's attack. But our courage is found in God and in Saul's encouraging last written words. \"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord will award on that da…","meta_description":"We dig into Acts 9:15-16: \"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":611,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/awake-us-now-3481/episodes/dig-deeper-acts-chapter-9-persecutor-persecuted/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/awake-us-now-3481/dig-deeper-acts-chapter-9-persecutor-persecuted.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}