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Intro
Intro
Crestview Illustration
Crestview Illustration
I justified everything I felt and thought through my own understanding and appeasement. I got over myself by the end of the night, but
I think all of us have been there, like When driving down the road......it’s all about our own perspective and what we allow ourselves to see understand.
And as we catch up with Saul in , we are going to find out what happens when our stubbornness meets God’s power and grace.
Recap Chapter 8
Recap Chapter 8
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
What we have to understand here is that Saul truly believed he was doing the right thing. Saul was a pharisee. He grew up learning the law of Moses, so he was no stranger to the word of God. And like every other pharisee, Saul believed that Jesus and these Christians went against everything that he was ever taught and everything that he believed to be true. His actions were a result of his beliefs and his desire to defend and honor those traditions with his life.
He thought he was doing God’s will. There have been many terrible things done in this world under the banner of ‘God’s Will’. But Saul believed it. So much so, that he didn’t stop in Jerusalem after the murder of Stephen. He went and asked permission to go to Damascus. He wasn’t acting under orders, this was personal for him.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Have you ever heard that song, Blinded By The Light? Just curious, it popped into mind while reading through this.
The presence of God is powerful! Saul saw the light, fell to the ground and then heard a voice. The question was simple, but as with every other question ever asked by God, the purpose was clear. This question made it clear to Saul that his actions against the church were actions against Jesus himself and any action against Jesus was an action against God.
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many.
Saul recognized the heavenly authority of the voice speaking to him, but it wasn’t until the next verse that it hit him like a ton of bricks.
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
Can you imagine how he must have felt in this moment? Wondering why he was being rebuked, thinking he had been doing right only to realize:
Jesus was alive
Saul had been wrongfully persecuting Christians
The unity between Christ and the church
Everything he was doing was going against God’s will
This ruined Saul! He just had the rug pulled out from under him. It shook him to the core to have all these things revealed to him.
How would you feel if you found out that everything you knew about church, worship, evangelism, christianity, outreach, missions, and service were absolutely wrong? All the time and effort wasted. It’s not something you could just accept and move on with you life. This is a big deal!
Let’s focus on the last part of verse 5.
Explain a goad
Explain a goad
There had been so many things that Saul had kicked back against and ignored and pushed through as he fulfilled his campaign against the church. Think about it, every person he imprisoned, every person they murdered, every Christian that did not renounce their faith, his experience with Stephen. Those are all things that affect a person, but Saul chose to ignore them and continue stepping further into his sin.
Notice this, it was not Saul’s encounter with the church that changed him, it was his encounter with Jesus.
Look at verse 6
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Acts 9:
Have you ever tried to tell someone that they are doing something the wrong way? We usually don’t get a very good response do we? People always have to justify or shift the blame to someone else or something else as to why they made a mistake.
I love Saul’s surrender. “what do you want me to do?” And Jesus doesn’t reveal the entire plan, only the next step.
The journey of a Christian is one of faith. Do we have enough faith and trust to continue taking steps though the path is not revealed?
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Acts 9:
Saul responded with surrender and obedience. Catch this, the man who once imprisoned Christians and led them away in chains, is now being led, a prisoner to Christ, who breaks our chains. No one is beyond the love of Christ, no one!
Saul was ruined by his encounter with Christ. He was ruined to the point of not being able to see, eat or drink for 3 days. It’s because we cannot truly see who Jesus is without truly seeing who we are. We cannot see His strength without seeing our weakness, His love without our unworthiness, His beauty without our wretchedness, His grace and mercy without our sin, His glory without our necessity of Him.
Saul saw it, he felt it, he accepted it and he surrendered to it. So should we.
But the thing is, every single of you justify your sins under the banner of ‘God’s Will’ or ‘Christianity’.
Selfishness/Self Righteousness: looking down on people who are not saved, we are all equal
Selfishness/Self Righteousness: looking down on people who are not saved, we are all equal
Coveting: living beyond your means chasing image, our identity is in Christ
Gossip: spreading rumors, pray for each other
Hatred/Anger: holding grudges against others, forgive and seek out reconciliation
Judgement: judgment belongs to the Lord, we are to love
Idolatry: buildings, tradition, law over love, gospel and grace
We do it because we refuse to see Jesus as He really is, because we don’t want to see ourselves as we really are.
We want to stay comfortable.
We want to stay comfortable.
We don't want to accept blame and see our sin for what it is.
We don't want to open ourselves to hurt.
We want to hold on to illusion of control.
All we are doing is kicking against the goads.
Imagine if we got it right. with our marriage, children, finances, community, schools, church. What would we look like if we just allowed ourselves to be ruined by Jesus?