Being the Church: Acts 9, Conversion
The Book of Acts: Being the Church • Sermon • Submitted
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Corrie Ten Boom Story on Forgiving
“It was in a church in Munich that I saw him—a balding, heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives.
“It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favorite mental picture. Maybe because the sea is never far from a Hollander’s mind, I liked to think that that’s where forgiven sins were thrown. ‘When we confess our sins,’ I said, ‘God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. …’
“The solemn faces stared back at me, not quite daring to believe. There were never questions after a talk in Germany in 1947. People stood up in silence, in silence collected their wraps, in silence left the room.
“And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights; the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor; the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you were!
[Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent.]
“Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: ‘A fine message, Fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!’
“And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course—how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?
“But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. I was face-to-face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
“ ‘You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,’ he was saying, ‘I was a guard there.’ No, he did not remember me.
“ ‘But since that time,’ he went on, ‘I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein,’ again the hand came out—’will you forgive me?’
“And I stood there—I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven—and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place—could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
“For I had to do it—I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’ Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’
“I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience. Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality. Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives, no matter what the physical scars. Those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids. It was as simple and as horrible as that.
“And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion—I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. ‘… Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’
“And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
“ ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’
“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then”
(excerpted from “I’m Still Learning to Forgive” by Corrie ten Boom. Reprinted by permission from Guideposts Magazine. Copyright © 1972 by Guideposts Associates, Inc., Carmel, New York 10512>).
Pauls’ Conversion
Pauls’ Conversion
Pauls’ Conversion
Pauls’ Conversion
Paul's conversion
Paul's conversion
Outline of Paul's conversion
Who he was (1-2)
Who he was (1-2)
-who he encounter (3-6)
-what happened (7-9)
-evidence of Gods transformation (10-31
-role of Ananias (10-19)
& the church (19, 25, 26-28, 30,
-response of the Jews (20-22, 23-24, 28-29)
-effects on the Church (31)
Remembering Gods work in our life
God is at work
Who is God calling us to be like Ananias?
How can our congregation be like the early church? Opening arms to those that have been changed and letting their calling be grafted into our calling for the sake of His kingdom?
The New American Commentary: Acts 1. Paul’s New Witness to Christ (9:1–31)
Acts 9:1–30 emphasizes the complete transformation of Paul from the persecutor of the church to the one who was persecuted for his witness to Christ. Scholars have often pointed to various stories that at certain points offer analogies to Paul’s experience, such as that of Heliodorus’s vision and resulting blindness as related in 2 Macc 3 or the radical repentance and conversion of Asenath in the story of Joseph and Asenath.3
-who he encounter (3-6)
-what happened (7-9)
-evidence of Gods transformation (10-31
-role of Ananias (10-19)
& the church (19, 25, 26-28, 30,
-response of the Jews (20-22, 23-24, 28-29)
-effects on the Church (31)
Remembering Gods work in our life
God is at work
Who is God calling us to be like Ananias?
How can our congregation be like the early church? Opening arms to those that have been changed and letting their calling be grafted into our calling for the sake of His kingdom?
The New American Commentary: Acts 1. Paul’s New Witness to Christ (9:1–31)
Paul’s conversion account falls into two main parts: vv. 1–22 relate the story of his transformation from persecutor of the church to witness for Christ, and vv. 23–31 show how the former persecutor became the one persecuted for bearing the name of Christ.
Who he encountered (3-6)
Who he encountered (3-6)
-evidence of Gods transformation (10-31
-role of Ananias (10-19)
& the church (19, 25, 26-28, 30,
-response of the Jews (20-22, 23-24, 28-29)
-effects on the Church (31)
Remembering Gods work in our life
God is at work
Who is God calling us to be like Ananias?
How can our congregation be like the early church? Opening arms to those that have been changed and letting their calling be grafted into our calling for the sake of His kingdom?
The New American Commentary: Acts Christ’s Appearance to Paul (9:1–9)
In any event, he quickly learned who the “Lord” was: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” It would be hard to imagine how these words must have struck Paul.
What happened (7-9)
What happened (7-9)
I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” It would be hard to imagine how these words must have struck Paul. They were a complete refutation of all he had been. He had persecuted Christians for their “blasphemous lie” that Jesus was risen, that he was the Lord reigning in glory. Now Paul himself beheld that same Jesus and the undeniable proof that he both lived and reigned in glory.
He thought he was fighting man, but it turned out to be God. This was also a backhanded way of saying the Sanhedrin was opposing God as well, not just some man made movement.
Evidence of Gods transformation (10-31
Evidence of Gods transformation (10-31
Role of Ananias (10-19)
& the church (19, 25, 26-28, 30,
Response of the Jews (20-22, 23-24, 28-29)
It changed everything for him and the Jews
It changed everything for him and the Jews
-This wasn't a "way" it was the way. The truth. The life
-Now Paul himself beheld that same Jesus and the undeniable proof that he both lived and reigned in glory.
Effects on the Church (31)
Remembering Gods work in our life
Remembering Gods work in our life
God is at work
That which we have seen and heard. They couldn't but help to speak of and follow faithfully.
Today we are going to hear from someone who has heard the words of the gospel and seen the work of God in her life.
Invite you to listen to this song that sets the stage for a story of God’s incredible work in the life of one our friends from TLC and the New Hope House, Kim Johnson.
Play Video of Micah Tyler
Play Video of Micah Tyler
Listen to Kim share her story
Special music by Shawn _____
Special music by Shawn _____
Based upon this story of Paul’s conversion and the story we have heard from our friend Kim, How shall we respond?
Does your journey of faith have an encounter with Jesus?
If No, then can you hear the words of Jesus and see the heart of God reaching into your darkness, inviting you into relationship?
If yes, then you and I can look to the example of Ananais and the early church for clarity of appropriate response.
Who is God calling us to be like Ananias?
Who is God calling us to be like Ananias?
How can our congregation be like the early church? Opening arms to those that have been changed and letting their calling be grafted into our calling for the sake of His kingdom?
What stories of God’s work in our lives need to be shared?
How can the work of God in our life be a catalyst for making known the message of Jesus wherever he calls us?
This wasn't a "way" it was the way. The truth. The life
Today we are going to hear from someone who has heard the words of the gospel and seen the work of God in her life.