Salvation is Unstoppable

INTRODUCTION

I love free refills…I should be able to get all of the sweet tea that I want…go to the grocery store and they say only 2 Blue Bell IC b/c of the sell…that is not right…limits are good…speed limits…age limits

God gives us limits…how to express ourselves sexually…sometimes we do not have a problem with God’s limits…we have gotten ourselves in trouble by self-imposing limits where Scripture does not speak

The church sometimes gets stagnant by its self-imposed limits

God gave the church a mission in the NT but for the first part of it’s life it did not get outside of its boundaries

The church had not embraced its destiny as a global movement of God

It accepted limits b/c of fear…opposition…religious tradition…racism

God led His church past these limits and the church embraced it

ACTS 9-15

IS THE CHURCH GOING OFF-LIMITS

CHR is a converting religion …If Jesus’ promise is true for everyone…it is true for anyone

Jesus did not tell the world to go to church but He told the church to go to the world

The world had religion…Jesus wanted the church to go these PPL and tell them about Him…persuade them to give their lives to God instead…that is the mission

We are not a community with some missionaries…we are a missionary community…we have all been commissioned

We all have the same mission…salvation is unstoppable and it is unlimited!

Jesus is going to launch that mission today…He is going to choose a man that did not think the mission should be spread and that it was a virus that needed to be destroyed…his name was Saul Acts 7…Stephen was a preacher that got killed…Saul was their and approved and even held the coats of the stoners

Acts 9:1–6 NIV

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Jesus did not call the church IT He called it a ME…some PPL will say I like Jesus but I do not like the church

You cannot separate the 2…they go hand in hand…the church is full of hypocrites…broken…flawed…embarrassing…all of that is true…

Jesus identifies with flawed…broken…embarrassing things like you and like me

Jesus loves His church…when you speak bad against the church..Jesus = you are not doing that to IT but you are doing that to ME…why do that

Saul thought he was doing the right thing…he was sincere and sincerely wrong

He said once “I was kicking against the goads”…there were some issues in my conscience…no one tried harder than me to keep The Law to stay right with God and I couldn’t do it…I heard stories about Jesus and I could not explain them…I watched Stephen forgive his killers…I was struggling with all of this…but one thing I could not get past was a dead Messiah

Paul had to go blind to see the truth

SALVATION CAN REACH ANYONE

Even the most skeptical…most hard hearted…the persecutor

We always talk about the perseverance of the saints…we should talk about the perseverance of God…He refuses to give up on anyone

Salvation is unlimited…unstoppable…no out of bounds for God…no one it cannot reach

I TIM. 1:15-16 NLT

1 Timothy 1:15–16 NLT

15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

This is all about God…He found us…we did not get God’s attention b/c we are so good…He got our attention b/c He is so good…

Salvation is a work of God

The problem is not that God has limits but we have limits…we have shrunk salvation

Who have you put off limits…past…reputation…issues…are we limiting salvation to only those we think are interested

The greater the rebellion the greater the impact of redemption

Saul came to arrest PPL who followed Jesus but he got arrested by Jesus

We have limited grace much more than what Jesus wants us to do

Acts 9:10–16 NIV

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

ANA was very close with Jesus…He could speak to him and he did not flinch…is it possible to be so close to Jesus that He could speak or prompt you and you would just speak back…he loved saying YES LORD up to a point

Ananias - YL…house of Judas - YL…Straight street - YL…Saul of Tarsus…no more YES LORDS

Have you ever wanted to remind God of some things that He had forgotten…he reminded Jesus about Saul

ANA was focused on Saul’s past…Jesus was focused on his future

Jesus = Saul is having a vision and you are in it…I know he came to DAM to do bad things…he wants to lay hands on you but I am sending you, to lay hands on him and pray for the man ANA did what he was told…he did not want to meet this man…he did it because…

SALVATION CAN UNITE ANYBODY

Acts 9:17–18 NIV

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

“Brother Saul” were 2 words that he thought he would never say…this was off limits…hie eyes were open to the grace of God and the common sinfulness of all mankind

We are great at division in this world…politics…classes…sex…race…one thing that can bring us all together…we all need salvation and we can all find it in Jesus

It would be great if we could past all of our differences and see each other as children of God…some are lost and need to find home

I will not find a person this week that doesn’t need grace…and no one out there needs it more than I do

This should transcend all of our differences…closed minds should become open arms

Acts 9:26–28 NIV

26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

The DISC wanted a wall and not a bridge…until they were told about Jesus…Jesus builds bridges

Grace is really that amazing…it can unite anybody

The grace that was brought to Saul would be the grace that Paul would take to the world

Going to the gentiles should not have been a problem…this was promised to Abraham…great commission

For the first several years the church stayed put…it didn’t go anywhere…Jesus wants us to go to different types of PPL…it took divine intervention to change their minds

SALVATION CAN GO ANYWHERE

II COR. 4:5 NCV

2 Corinthians 4:5 NCV

5 We do not preach about ourselves, but we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we are your servants for Jesus.

II COR. 4:7 NCV

2 Corinthians 4:7 NCV

7 We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us.

We are clay jars…old…cracked…dusty…but we can hold treasure and God has a purpose for us Is there a place that God does not want jars to go…He is in the shipping business

(ILL) Missionary in a Muslim country that is very aggressive towards CHR…the church is growing…every time someone converts…they are asked to write down every name that does not have Jesus…circle the 10 names of the PPL that are least likely to kill you if you talk to them about Jesus…start witnessing

There is a God in Heaven that has a throne and it is surrounded by PPL from every tribe…nation…tongue

God is not regretting that vision…He is not worried about us not doing the mission…it is happening

God wants a crowded Heaven full of all kinds of PPL…that is why everybody can come to this church and hear about Jesus…we cannot limit the mission of God by our limitations…biases…prejudices…judgmental hearts

We must be obedient even if others are not

Acts 9:20–25 NIV

20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

This is going to be the rest of his life…he will always be on the run…bouncing from prison to prison…beating to beating…in the same chapter he goes to Jerusalem and they try to kill him there…he has been a CHR for a few weeks and twice his life was in danger

Today there are 1000’s of PPL killed for Jesus every year…Satan’s way of trying to destroy the evidence Jesus chose him for this because

SALVATION CAN ENDURE ANYTHING

We usually do not put “chosen” and “suffering” together…but that is what Paul is

Paul knew that a Gospel that doesn’t cost you nothing will have a very limited impact

If your walk with Jesus costs you nothing then your impact will be empty

II COR. 4:8-10 NLT

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 NLT

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Triumph and winning isn’t always part of our faith…we sell “come to Jesus and you will get a new job, your kids will be on the honor roll, college will be paid for, your disease will go away”…no one listens to that b/c that is not life

I am following Jesus and life is not easy but I have a joy that cancer and pain and hurting cannot rock…I have hope that even death cannot steal…I have a purpose for life that even opposition and misunderstanding cannot deter

That message can go anywhere and reach anybody

Paul was willing to go through anything so that the Gospel could go through him

We are here today b/c Paul would not quit…I think all of us are Gentiles…we are here b/c Paul would not quit…he suffered to the very end…Nero gave him the thumbs down and they killed him…dragged to a dump and dogs ate his body but today we name our dogs Nero and we name our sons Paul He could endure anything because salvation is worth everything…it still is

(ILL) 56 men signed the Declaration of IND…one was Thomas Nelson…wealthy man…funded the munitions for Washington’s army…Battle of Yorktown…General Cornwallis took over Nelson’s home for his HQ…it was strategic…no way that Washington would aim his cannons at his friends house…Nelson told GW you destroy my house…whatever it costs is worth it…he lost everything but he said he won

In the next few weeks we will look at a man who gave it all…he was sold out…you will say “that was Paul, he is an apostle”…you would do what he did if you saw what he saw…when your world has been turned upside down by Jesus you will not go back to the same ol’ stuff Maybe we need an interruption in our lives…maybe we need an encounter with Jesus