Acts 26:9-18

Open your eyes…

Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Jesus does incredible things! God moves mountains in our lives, and we need to Hold onto Jesus, our hope! He is our joyful confidence in eternal salvation. God does incredible things.

Paul was once on the other side of the court room…he once held a vote in the sanhedrin…he was once like you and I once were…on our own, without Jesus. From his youth he had been taught and convinced that being a Pharisee was more important than being obedient. He cared more about his title, than anything else…

Acts 26:9–11 ““I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.”

Paul was convinced that he ought to fight against the name of Jesus, against the Son of God, against God’s word…

With all his knowledge, he missed…with all his experience he was empty…operating from a sense of self worth, than reverence.

The world wants to convince you to do many things that put you opposite from Jesus. Apposing like making you Jesus’s opponent.

Don’t wait for marriage, Truth is what you feel, everyone and anything is good…Paul has been on both sides of the courtroom…he sees how dark his world once was…Rage and fury fuel the world, trying to get you to slip up and blaspheme…

This tells us that Paul is aware of the tactics of the Pharisees, they would try and get Christians to blaspheme so that they could pursue action…get them to stumble and then carry you away…

Does that sound familiar? There are certain religions that want to get you to renounce Jesus, to trap you in red hearings, to get you confused…to get you mad…to get you emotional.

This goes back to the orator Tertullus, trying to appeal to the emotional side of you.

Satan wants you as far away from Jesus as possible, he knows he has lost…and wants to take as many with him as he can…he is working day and night to get you mad, sad, hopeless, depressed, apathetic, to get you to get convince you by these methods to sin. Dissension/Division, Riots, Mobs, Anger…clear evidence of the enemy.

We know that this world, those walking in darkness are under the influence and power of satan. They get so worked up to the point where you cant even have a conversation. Their ears are sealed shut, and they refuse to let Jesus heal them…

The world, satan wants to convince you to live as you see fit…cut corners, take it easy…do what makes you happy no matter the cost…

Paul is confessing that he was once where the Pharisees are, and was once convinced that living as his world was convincing him to live was right and acceptable….even holy!

Lets acknowledge how well suited Paul is for the task God had for him…Paul is the best candidate to navigate bringing the Gospel to the Pharisees/ Kings/ Gentiles…he understands the system and is tailoring the Gospel message to that specific audience.

Do you know the same is true for you? That whatever you are going through right now is being used to tailor you, to prepare you to be used to bring the gospel message. The hurt that seems to overwhelm that once had us thinking there is no use, eradicated by the light and Glory of Jesus Christ. Holding onto Jesus helps those trials become triumphs, those losses into lessons, those messes into messages, those tests into testimonies! Let God show you how incredible He is by trusting Him in the highs and lows, let Him purify you like a silversmith, and prepare you for the task He has you in mind for.

You were saved for great purpose, you were chosen to serve.

Acts 26:12–18 ““In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

Paul… with all his knowledge of God and the word...begins to truly see when He acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord.

You can have all the facts, you can learn and be familiar with God, the stories…but you wont truly be set free, you wont truly understand until you acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord.

Everything changed for Paul when he understood that Jesus Christ is Lord…he went from operating in his own truth, to God’s Truth!

The Pharisees refused to see Jesus Christ as Lord and could not see that He was the messiah, and they murdered Jesus for it…

It is hard for you to kick against the goads…

You cant out maneuver Gods will, you cant escape it, you cant fight it…there are people who think they can…but every knee will bow, and every tongue confess…Jesus is coming back, and head the warning…it is hard for you to fight me…dont resist Jesus saving you.

Please lean into this, unless Jesus Christ is your Lord you are kicking against the goads.

Lord: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord

the possessor and disposer of a thing

the owner; one who has control of the person, the master

is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master

this title is given to: God, the Messiah

When He really is your Lord, you read…you live a life that is different…

You have your eyes opened, and you understand your need for His life, you see yourslef spending more time praying and less time watching TV, you come to church ready to encounter Jesus, and not have your problems fixed…

Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? does He have your full attention when he enters the room…are you hanging on every one of His words?

Rise up! Get up from comfort, get up from shame, get up from laziness and know that Jesus has revealed Himself to you for a purpose! YOU HAVE PURPOSE!

Jesus sets us free, He opens our eyes and we begin to see the world and its darkness…we understand that Jesus did need to come down to us and die that we might be saved…

Praise God He does save! His heart is to save all that would hear Him…

That they too might turn from the darkness to the light, from the power of satan to the power of God that they would be forgiven and sanctified by their faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The context of the word sanctified here means: Christians called as those, who, freed from the impurity of wickedness, have been brought near to God by their faith in Jesus.

This sounds exactly like what the world desperately needs right now…freed from the wickedness that defiles and kills from within.

In a town, family, county, country, world…dying in sin…unable to see…blinded by the darkness, Jesus offers freedom…and He has chosen you to bring that message.

When you bring this hope with you to work, your co workers encounter Jesus…When Jesus is your Lord…look out, blind men will see…people will be redeemed.

You are here for this very purpose…you can keep convincing yourself that you dont need a Lord or Savior…you cant kick against the goad forever…Jesus is here, right now…ready and alive and waiting to set you free. Let Him in.

You are here to remember that you have a responsibility to witness, by word, by deed and action, to worship your professed Lord! Get in your word, draw near to God! Let Him Show you how incredible He is…let Him make you more like His son Jesus.