Yes…Now What?

November 17th 2024

Series: Yes!

Sermon Title: Yes…Now What?

Topic: A series about how we are ALL called by God into ministry and how to learn how to say YES to God’s call. Also, we need to know about funding 2025 missions and letting people know about trips planned and the missionaries we support.

Key Passages: Acts 7:54 – 8:3

Topic: Missions, Calling, Serving

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we discuss what we do once we say YES to God but don’t know what to do next.

***1st week ODD months add communion & target message at 15 pages.

***1st week EVEN months add space for dedication, baptism, or ministry highlight & target message at 15 pages.

***Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, and/or a picture that goes on the screens.

***Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Dedication, Baptism, or Ministry Highlight (1st Sunday even months):

Sermon:

Campus Pastor

Hello Family Church!

Family Moment –

Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.

Celebrate salvation / re-dedications / baptisms last week.

If you are new or newer to Family Church, I want to welcome you today!

Today, we continue our sermon series called YES!!!!

This whole month is focused on God’s mission for our church and each of you.

PAUSE

Let me remind you of what we are talking about this month….

Two weeks ago, we talked about what a lot of us say to God when we feel He is calling us to do something….

How, at times, we say to God…Yes….BUT….I’m not qualified.

And we looked at some people in the Bible who said that to God and how God helped them overcome that fear.

Last week, we will look at another common response to God…

When we say….

Yes…BUT….God, that’s NOT the way I wanted to do!

When we are NOT doing what we DREAMED, we would do in the future.

When the doors that God opens us up are NOT what you want to do..

What do you do then…

That is what we talked about last week…

Today we are in week #3, and we will talk about when we finally say YES to God…

But then have NO Idea what to do next!

We say YES to accepting Jesus but then have no idea what the next step is…

We say YES to following God but don’t really know what that means.

PAUSE

And come back next week, and we will talk about when we get to that place with God when we just say YES, God! Let’s Go!

We will look at some people in the Bible and how, when they finally said YES to Jesus, everything changed for them.

PAUSE

In addition, we are learning about ALL the missionaries and ministries we support as a church!

You will also learn about ALL the mission trips we planned for 2025!

AND you will also hear about how we want ALL of you to get involved in all of that!

So, it will be a GREAT month, and you will not want to miss a Sunday this month!!!!

PAUSE

One of the other FUN things we do for Mission Month every year is TEAM PREACH!!!!

So, I would like to welcome Preacher #2

ADD a short blurb on the person preaching with you….

PAUSE

Preacher #2

Speaking about people we support; I want to share with you about one of the local ministries we support…. BOB ADD SHORT BLURB see how you can weave in how they or someone said yes but I am not qualified.

I also want to share about one of our international ministries…

BOB ADD SHORT BLURB see how you can weave in how they or someone said yes but I am not qualified.

PAUSE

Campus Pastor

I love how we are a church that is NOT internally focused!

How we ARE a church focused on helping other people and other ministries do what God has called them to do!

Grab your Bibles and open them up to the book of

Acts 7

And by the way…..

New Person Bible Connection:

If you do not have a Bible, that is ok!

After service, we will give you an AMAZING leather-bound study Bible!

Just go to ADD YOUR CAMPUS PLACE and get one for FREE!!!

PAUSE

Let me give you a little background on the guy we will read about in the Bible today.

Today, we are going to read about a guy named Saul.

Saul was a REALLY important Jewish leader who HATED Jesus and was tasked with destroying Jesus’ movement.

I think Saul is a PERFECT person to study when we are talking about when we finally get to the point of saying YES to Jesus…but then as soon as we say YES…..

Having no idea what that means for the next part of our life…

And let me also speak to two groups of people here…

I know some people are listening to this message and you feel REALLY guilty about some of the things you have done in your past.

I know people are listening in the church today who wish they had made different choices in their lives.

I know some of you struggle with your poor self-image.

Some of you hate looking in the mirror.

Some of you hate who you are.

Some of you hate your life.

Some of you think that God will never forgive you for some of the things you have done.

Some of you think you are beyond hope.

Some of you live in a constant state of guilt and despair.

And if that is you today, even if you would never admit it to another person, will you please lean into this message and listen?

Because today you are going to see a guy who did some REALLY bad things be TOTALLY forgiven by Jesus!

We are going to see a guy who many of you in this room would NEVER be friends with……… be forgiven by Jesus and become a GREAT man of God!

And if God can do that for someone like Saul….

He can do that with you!

Please hear me….

There is ALWAYS hope for you!

You are NEVER beyond redemption!

PAUSE

Now let me speak to a different group….

This message is also for you people who grew up in church.

Those of you who have spent your whole life in church.

Those of you who think you are a good Christian.

Those of you who think you are good in your walk with Jesus.

Because you are going to see Saul, who was just like you.

He grew up in church, or his case Synagogue.

Saul spent his whole life in the church.

Saul thought he was a good follower of God.

Saul thought he had a good walk with God.

And you are going to see Saul was anything but all those things.

Saul was missing the boat and had NO idea!

Saul thought he was headed toward Heaven, and he was NOT.

So please, if you grew up in church….

Lean in and listen in…

Because you might find yourself in the same place as Saul…

But also know if you are….

There is still hope for you as well….

PAUSE

I really think today’s message is going to bring a LOT of FREEDOM to a lot of people!!!!

So please stay with me!

Again…..The person we are going to talk about today HATED Jesus!

This person hated Christians

This person persecuted Christians.

This person hunted Christians down.

This person destroyed Christian families and sent them to jail.

This person endorsed killing Christians.

And this person….one day…..ran into Jesus while traveling to persecute more Christians…..and everything in his life was flipped upside down.

PAUSE

Then this person went on to become one of the most devoted followers of Jesus we have in the Bible.

This person probably expanded the Kingdom of God on earth more than any other follower of Jesus.

This person was inspired by God and wrote many books in our Bibles!

PAUSE

No matter what you have done in your life, you would be hard-pressed to have done more than Saul to tear down what Jesus started.

So, if you are here today and you are not a Jesus person….you have a lot in common with Saul.

If you are here today and you are not sure Jesus is God… Saul was in that boat with you.

PAUSE

Today, you are going to see that Saul thought he was doing everything right….

He had no idea he was missing some really important things.

And once he made the choice to say YES to Jesus…

Then he had his now what moment…

Here is what I want you all to ponder as you listen to this story….this is in your notes…

What do I do when I don’t know what to do next in life?

Repeat

PAUSE

Preacher #2, you want to pick up reading at verse 54…

Acts 7:54 – 8:3 54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,

58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul

Named what church?

Saul.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

And Saul approved of their killing him.

Acts 8:1-3 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Stop there….

You can clearly see that Saul hated Jesus….

Saul wanted to see the followers of Jesus expunged and eradicated!

After Saul was there for Stephen’s murder, Saul went door to door in Jerusalem, finding people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah to destroy them as well.

Church don’t miss the kind of person Saul was.

While people were mourning the death of Stephen….

Saul used it to find more of them to destroy their lives!!

Let me show you…verse 2

2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

Do you have a picture yet of Saul?

He was anything but a follower of Jesus.

He had no desire for a relationship with Jesus.

He wanted to kill and destroy those who believed in Jesus.

If you want to later today read Acts 22…you will see Paul explaining his hatred of Jesus, there as well!

But for now move in your Bibles to Acts 9 and Campus Pastor is going to show you the moment when Saul said YES to Jesus…

Campus Pastor you want to pick up there?

Sure…let’s start at Acts 9:

Acts 9: 1-17 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.”

Pause there…

Can you imagine being Saul?

You’re in route to destroy more of Jesus’ movement…..

You’re on the way, and you are knocked to the ground by God…

And God speaks to you and tells you his name is Jesus!!!

NOW WHAT!!!!

NOW what does Saul do?

Verse 7

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Saul fasted…

He did not know what to do so he fast…

He did not eat or drink anything and waited on what was next…

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.”

Imagine being Ananias….

God comes and tells you to go heal this person who was killing off your friends.

God tells you to go do something that would be so scary; to let the man who is in charge of hunting down Christians know you are a Christian.

Do you have that much faith in God?

Will you follow God no matter what he asks you to do?

LONG PAUSE

Verse 17

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,

19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Imagine…..being Saul…..or imagine being one of his friends following him at this moment.

Everything Saul has been doing has been hunting and killing the followers of Jesus…..

And now you find out Jesus is God….

Talk about a NOW WHAT moment…..

Keep this in context….Remember, this is AFTER Jesus died and was resurrected!

So, Saul would clearly know......

God is telling him he was wrong!

God is telling him to become a follower of Jesus!

God is telling him to start helping more people become Christians!

Can you imagine!!!!

PAUSE

Everything Saul has learned to this point is turned upside down.

Everything Saul has done to this point in his life is about to shift 180 degrees!

PAUSE

Person #2 you want to share a time where you have been there in your life?

Share a personal story

And I want to share one more thing about Saul…

Just because he gave his life to Jesus did not mean he would have clarity on what to do for the rest of his life.

Saul continued to have NOW WHAT moments!

Let me give you some places you can see this in the Bible…

For example, in verse 23 of this chapter, where he is telling people about Jesus, and then they want to kill him…

I am sure Saul was like…ok…now what God???

Or in verse 26 when he got to Jerusalem and all Jesus disciples were afraid of him and did not want to allow him in!!!!

And if you study deeply, you will find most scholars think from this chapter to chapter 11 Saul spent 4 years in Tarsus seeking what was next for him…

So I am sure Saul asked…Now What God….when in Chapter 11, a guy named Barnabas showed up in Tarsus looking for him…

I am sure Saul said NOW WHAT…when he was stoned almost to death in Acts 14…

I am sure Saul said NOW WHAT…when he and Barnabas had such a bad argument in Acts 15 that they parted ways…

I am sure Saul said NOW WHAT when he was thrown in jail over and over…

Do you get the point church?

PAUSE

We are all going to have NOW WHAT moments in life….

But here is the point…

Here is what I want to encourage you to do…

When you do not know what to do in life, seek God’s direction.

Repeat

Campus Pastor You want to land this plane?

Today, no matter what you feel.

Today, no matter what you think.

Today, no matter where you have been.

You can be made NEW by entering into a true relationship with Jesus!

PAUSE

So, let me end by asking you all to do something this week.

As we can see, Saul was a very religious person.

He thought he was doing what God wanted.

He thought he was living a life that honored God.

He thought he was a very good person.

His culture would have said he was a God-fearing person.

His culture would have said he was doing the right thing.

His culture would have said Saul was a model follower of God.

And Saul missed the boat.

Saul was not destined for heaven.

Not until he had a REAL encounter with Jesus and that relationship began, everything changed.

Let me share your life application with you today….

For those of you who are new, or newer, to Family Church.

We end our messages with a Life Application.

It is simply something to help you go home and process this message with someone else.

Something to help you continue to ponder how you can apply today's message to your life.

So here is what I want you all to spend some time processing and talking with someone about.

Life Application: Take time this week to ask God, “Now what?” Now what do you want me to do in life? Then simply follow the leading of God. As a result of today’s message, I will _________________________.

Prayer:

Make sure to do salvation call!

Offering:

BOB ADD BLURB ON WHAT PICTCH MONEY WE ARE RAISING!!!!