Sermon Tone Analysis

Victorious Service for Our Savior

Acts 9:19-31

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - Feb. 2, 2014

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Acts 9, as we think about serving our Savior.

This chapter begins with the meeting Saul had with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

At the time Saul was one of the most vicious enemies of God's Church.

But on that road, Saul met Jesus in a blinding flash of light, and his life was totally transformed.

*After he was blinded, Saul had to be led by the hand into the city.

But the Lord sent a faithful Christian named Ananias to help Saul miraculously regain his sight.

Then Ananias helped Saul begin to understand what had happened on the road.

*Today's Scripture helps us understand how God turned Saul into the Apostle Paul, one of the most devoted Christian servants in history.

And this matters a lot, because God wants all Christians to be devoted servants of God.

With this background in mind, let's begin by reading Acts 9:19-31.

INTRODUCTION:

*Have you ever thought of yourself as a servant of the Lord?

Christians: God wants us to be His servants.

Paul certainly considered himself to be a servant of the Lord, and he was careful to mention this fact in his letters.

*For example, in Romans 1:1, Paul introduced himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God." Then in 1 Corinthians 4:1, Paul said, "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God."

In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul said, "though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more."

And in 2 Corinthians 4:5, Paul said, "We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake."

*Paul considered himself to be a servant of God, and that makes sense, because Jesus Christ also came as a servant.

In Matthew 20, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said:

26. . .

Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

27.

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave

28.

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.''

*Jesus called Himself a servant, and He wants us to live in service to our God.

As Rick Warren once said: "You were made to contribute, not just to consume.

God made you to make a difference.

And what matters is not how long you live, but how you live.

What matters is not the duration of your life, but the donation of your life.

The Bible says we’re created to serve, we’re saved to serve, we’re gifted to serve, and we’re commanded to serve."

(1)

*But how can we be the servants God wants us to be? -- God's Word shows us in this Scripture.

1.

First notice that God will give us strength.

*God will give us all the strength we will ever need, and Paul’s story proves this truth to us.

Please look again in vs. 19-22:

19.

And when he had received food, he was strengthened.

Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

20.

Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

21.

Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?''

22.

But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

[1] God gave Paul two kinds of strength in these verses.

In vs. 19, he was strengthened by the food.

*The word for strength here means that Paul was "invigorated."

He was strengthened physically for the work God wanted him to do.

It’s the same word used when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the cross.

In Luke 22:42-43, Jesus said:

42. . .

"Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."

43.

Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

*Jesus was strengthened.

Paul was strengthened.

And God will give us the physical strength we need to do what He wants us to do.

[2] Then down in vs. 22, we see another word for "strength."

*Here God's Word says: "Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ."

The strength here in vs. 22 is where we get our word "dynamite," and it’s talking about the dynamic, spiritual power of God's Word and His Holy Spirit.

*God wants us to have this same kind of spiritual strength.

And we know this is true, because this is the same word Paul used in Ephesians 6:10, when he told us to "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

*God wants every believer to have His spiritual strength.

One reason why is because God's strength helps us overcome our past.

*Imagine how Paul must have felt when he realized how wrong he had been, and how many people he had hurt.

That realization could have led to paralyzing guilt, but God gave Paul the strength to overcome it.

God gave Paul the strength to make a brand-new start in life.

And the Lord will do the same thing in our lives.

*God also gave Paul the strength to overcome opposition to the Gospel.

*Yes, in vs. 23-25, Paul had to leave Damascus, because some of the unbelieving Jews plotted to kill Paul.

And many of the Jews in Damascus could not be persuaded of the truth.

But in vs. 22, they could not overcome Paul’s teaching.

The Christ-rejecting Jews just got more confused and confounded, because of the strength that God gave to Paul.

*God wants to give us that kind of spiritual strength.

But it’s even better to say that God IS our strength.

So, again Ephesians 6:10 tells us to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

God Himself is our only real strength, and He will give us all the strength we need to do what He wants us to do.

2. We can be the servants God wants us to be, because He will give us strength... -- And He will give us a strategy.

*In vs. 20-22, Paul helps us understand the Lord’s strategy, so please listen to these verses again:

20.

Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

21.

Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?''

22.

But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

[1] In these verses, there are two key parts to our strategy.

First, Paul preached the good news about Jesus.

*As vs. 20 says, "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God." Paul spoke the truth about Jesus Christ.

And I like the fact that he didn’t lollygag around.

Verse 20 says Paul started immediately.

*Are you putting off doing something that God wants you to do? Are you putting off giving your testimony?

What about inviting someone to church?

Now is the time to do it.

[2] Paul preached the good news.

-- Then in vs. 22, he proved the good news.

*Saul "confounded the Jews.

proving that this Jesus is the Christ."

How did Paul do that?

He did it with the Word of God.

Under God's leadership, Paul looked into the Old Testament, and found verse after verse that obviously pointed to Jesus and the sacrifice He made for our sins.

*I’ve read articles where people said the Word of God isn’t enough to persuade people anymore.

Don’t you believe it!

If they are going to be persuaded about Jesus Christ, it is going to be by the Word of God!

If they are going to be saved, it is going to be by the Word of God!

As Paul wrote much later in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. .

."

*Church: We can stand on the Word of God! Mitchell Gonzalez gave this great testimony: "I saw my two-year-old daughter Natalie carry my Bible by the case’s handle.

She dragged it in front of a tall table we have.