The "Wow" Factor

Last week we began a new sermon series called “Sharing God.” We are spending this series looking at the impact that sharing God with those God places before us can have on us, those around us, and on the church.

One aspect that we spoke of last week is that we have been called to share God with those around us by Jesus when he told his disciples that they would share about him to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

This week we discover “The “Wow” Factor.” Our scripture comes from Acts 9:1-19.

9 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.”

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.

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.”

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.

Please pray with me…

Has there ever been a time in your life where God just made you say “wow”? Have you ever wondered how the impossible became possible? This may even include the fact that some how you became a follower of Jesus.

Our story today takes us on such a journey. We discover that sometimes what is considered to be impossible can become possible. God at times will remind us of what we are told in scripture that “through God all things are possible.”

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The word that is often used regarding a change in a person within faith circles is “transformation.” This word acknowledges that something amazing, some would even say supernatural, has occurred. A person has changed from who they were into a new being.

The example often used is the transformation of a butterfly from being a caterpillar, to being embedded into a chrysalis, and coming out of that chrysalis as a butterfly. What an amazing transformation. What an amazing change in form.

We find transformation explained in scripture this way, “I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” How ironic of a description when we study the transformation of Saul, who becomes Paul.

(Transition)

Saul goes from someone “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” to someone who ends up becoming a follower of Jesus. And just like in our phrase regarding transformation, he was literally blind before he was freed from the bondage of sin and became a follower of Jesus.

Our story comes after Saul has already arrested and mistreated a large number of Christians within Jerusalem. It is believed by some that the book of James is written to individuals who said enough is enough and left Jerusalem to get away from the persecution that Christians were facing.

Saul now is moving on from Jerusalem to a new area where he is either after some new Christians or chasing down some of those Christians that had left Jerusalem. What is obvious, Saul does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

(Transition)

We have a light from Heaven flash around Paul. We don’t have any further description, but it causes Paul to fall to the ground. The scripture doesn’t directly say it, but it would make sense that his reaction was due to fear from God. He may even be thinking “Uh OH,” I must have really messed up this time.

God attempts to reach people in various ways. There is no doubt that God’s way of reaching Saul has a lot more “wow” factor than many of us would have during our relationship with Jesus. Paul may have a better story, but his story would be so unbelievable that some may struggle  to believe him.

They may wonder what kind of drugs Paul was taking when all of this supposedly happened. His experience is so unique that some may not be able to understand how this can compare to the struggles that they are facing.

Your story might seem boring to you, but it may be more relatable to those you meet than a story like Paul’s. You may not even have a story to share about when you started following Jesus. I can’t tell you the moment, but I also can’t remember a time I did not believe that Jesus was my Lord and Savior.

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Those like me have a story of a God that was always a part of our lives. How through what we have gone through Jesus walked with us from our first memory until today. We can tell the story of a God who cares so much about us that his love was always shown to us.

There maybe some here today or watching online that didn’t have quite the “wow” factor offered by Saul, but you found yourself seeking something in your life. That seeking led to the right person or circumstances and through what took place you made the decision to follow Jesus.

Your story shows what we looked at last week with Philip and the eunuch, God knows what we need and attempts to help us discover our need for him. God loves each person enough to want to guide them into a relationship with him.

And there maybe some of you that have had your own amazing transformation story. You weren’t seeking it, but God provided a way for you to believe in him. You went through something that many would have believed unbelievable. You may have had events occur that you believe could have only come from God.

Your story shows that there are no steps that God is not willing to take in order to lead someone into a relationship with him. You are proof that God’s love is willing to overcome any obstacle set before him.

(Transition)

 Different circumstances for different people. God is our creator therefore he attempts to use his knowledge of us to help guide us into recognizing our need to have him become a part of our lives.

Our last sermon series was all about grace and how the grace of God impacts our lives. We believe in what we call Prevenient Grace. This type of grace is God’s attempt to let us know what we are missing in our lives. He wants to help us discover how better off we are when we are willing to follow the one who created us.

We find in the three scenarios listed above that God knows us individually and he will attempt to lead us towards him in different ways. He knows that each one of us needs to hear from him differently in order to decide to follow him.

(Transition)

The point that I am making is that each one of you that are followers of Jesus have a story. You have a message to share with someone that can allow for them to understand a need, a desire, to want to if not yet follow Jesus at least to get to know him better.

This can help us to focus on the hymn that reminds us that “We've a story to tell to the nations that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light.”

Our first reading tells us the same thing. It reminds us that our light, our radiance, can overcome the darkness of the world. Our faith can allow us to have our light shine through us to where we become light to the world.

We can decide to hide our light from those around us, or we can share the light. We can bring light into the crevasses of darkness that those around us are facing. It is not that we also don’t face hardships, but we know of someone that can help us overcome the darkness.

We know the light of the world. We know of the one that can overcome the darkness of sin and death. We have a story to share with those that God places before us. A story of truth and life. A story of peace and light.

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You may be someone in person or online that is seeking God or maybe you stumbled upon this sermon somehow. I hope that what has been mentioned so far can help you know that no matter what you are facing God wants to face it with you. God wants to be in a relationship with you.

(Transition)

When we transition to the second part of our main scripture, we can see what it takes for us to share our story. We have God ask for a man named Ananias to do something that made no sense to him.

God tells Annanias where he can find a man from Tarsus named Saul. Don’t miss this, God is making sure that Annanias knows that this is not just some guy named Saul. This is the person who has been arresting and putting Christians in prison and God wants Annanias to go to him.

There may be people in our lives that we don’t want to speak to or help. God may ask for us to go to them and help them. God may challenge us to decide if we are going to follow our heart or follow him.

This reminds me of the story of Jonah. God asks Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah chooses not to go. What we can miss in this story is that God must have decided out of all the people around that Jonah was the best person to represent him among these people that were enemies of the Jewish nation.

At the end of the book of Jonah we find out why Jonah didn’t want to go, he knew that if he went the people of Nineveh would repent. In his heart, he would prefer them to be destroyed instead of becoming right with God.

His heart had so much hatred within it that it took God having his spend sometime inside of a big fish for him to be willing to do what God wanted him to do. And even then, he is still unhappy with God that the people of Nineveh were saved.

We have a decision to make, are we going to let God guide our heart or are we going to let our opinions of others dictate who we are going to help. God wants us to help others discover what it means to be in a relationship with him.

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We know that Ananias got the hint because he wonders if God understands what he wants for him to do. Ananias is doubting that the all-knowing God that he is following would choose to have him help someone like Saul if God knew what Saul had done.

He gets his answer, and that answer is “yes I know what he has done but he is now going to be doing great things for me.” God has a plan for Saul, and Ananias is part of that plan. He is to be the person that will restore Saul’s sight. He will be the one that will help Saul see again.

The difference between Jonah and Ananias is that Ananias may not want to, but he is willing to listen and follow the will of God. He is asked to go, and he goes and does what he is asked.

Are you willing to do what God asks for you to do? If God asks, are you going to be willing to be uncomfortable or meet with someone that you believe doesn’t deserve to be in a relationship with God.

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It is through Ananias being willing to follow through and touch Saul that the “wow” moment is complete. We have Ananias go where God asks for him to go and when he sees the man who had been “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” he calls him a “brother.”

He is saying that God has united us together under faith. I accept you as a follower of Jesus and I am here under guidance from God to heal you. Saul is healed from his blindness, receives the Holy Spirit, and is baptized.

Our God works in mysterious ways. Nothing that God chooses to do should surprise us. After all, he chose fishermen, a tax collector, and other ordinary men and women to be the ones to pass on his message. He is now asking us to do the same.

(Transition)

I want to reiterate what I brought up earlier. If you are not already in a relationship with God, it does not matter what you have done or are doing God will forgive you. Saul would have been considered an enemy to Christianity, but we find him freed from the power of sin. That same possibility is open to you. God loves you as you are.

Let me end with this, if you are a follower of Jesus, it does not matter if you began your relationship with him through a “wow” moment or it was not a moment you can name for sure in your faith journey, the moment someone gives their life over to Jesus is a “wow” moment. A moment of transformation of someone being found and able to always be loved by their God.

But let us also remember the importance of staying connected to God and continuing to grow in your faith. It is through listening to God and having the faith to follow the will of God that will allow us to become a part of a “wow” moment in someone’s life.

Let us pray…