The Unlikeliest Convert
Notes
Transcript
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Introduction
Introduction
Continuing the Book of Acts (ch 9)
For those of you who have been paying attention: What has happened so far?
Resurrected Jesus
Pentecost
Peter and John spreading the gospel in Jerusalem
Face opposition from Religious Leaders
Stephen enters the scene, boldly preaching
And he is the first causality of the church
Stephen was murdered for professing faith in Jesus
And after this, a severe persecution comes, scattering the church
And the past few weeks we’ve looked at one of these men who was scattered, Philip
He was actually the first one to fulfill bringing the good news to:
Jerusalem
Judea
Samaria
The Ends of the Earth
We saw him bring the good news of Jesus to the Samaritans in his showdown with Simon the Sorcerer
And last week we saw his encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch
And how his encounter with this one man in the desert, brought the gospel to the ends of the earth
So a lot has happened in 8 chapters
In chapter 9 we are introduced to a new character, that will go on to be arguably the most influential Christian to ever live— Saul of Tarsus
Also known as Paul
Not given a new name from God like some biblical characters
Saul — Hebrew
Paul — Roman/Latin
So I might go back in forth with his names
In his life, he would go on 3 missionary journeys all over the Roman empire bringing the truth of Jesus everywhere he went
He planted churches and pastored everywhere he went
As we continue through Acts—he will become the main character from the middle of chapter 12 till the end of the book
He went on to write 13 of the NT letters that we know
Romans
1 & 2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 & 2 Thessalonians
1 & 2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
I can say, that this man we will be talking about today… Saul of Tarsus (or Paul), who lived over 2,000 years ago—Has changed my life
It is through the power of the Spirit
But his life, writings, and character, have been used by God to bring the knowledge of Jesus across the world and through the centuries
So I have a question:
How many of you like super heroes?
What are some of your favorite heroes?
I’m rewatching a bunch of the Marvel movies because Anaiah hasn’t seen almost any of them
Last week we watched Captain America
Every super hero has an origin story
How they got their powers, their early struggles, their family life
And today, we get to read Paul’s origin story
The moment he was called by God to be an instrument of His Kingdom
And if you we’re paying attention… Saul had already been introduced in the book of Acts
Does anyone know where?
1 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.
If you’re reading this story with fresh eyes: The story of Stephen ends with this mysterious, foreboding, and sinister man
It looks like he is being set up to be the big villain of Acts (post-credit scene)
And now—we pick up in the beginning of Chapter 9 to see what happens to this man, Saul:
1 Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said.
“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9 He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.
10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
“Here I am, Lord,” he replied.
11 “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”
21 All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
22 But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
Outline:
No one is beyond God’s reach
Saul’s conversion teaches us that:
Saul was not beyond God’s reach
We are not beyond God’s reach
Others are not beyond God’s reach
Saul was not beyond God’s reach
Saul was not beyond God’s reach
Again this story picks up where Saul’s story left off in chapter 8
Saul participated in and approved of Stephen’s death
The very next time he is mentioned, we read:
1 Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
This is a man — “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord”
It was more than just a thought or hobby
In his very breath—was murderous thoughts towards the early church
This was where he derived his meaning and purpose in life
And while his head was down on a mission to capture and imprison members of the church who had scattered… Saul has a profound encounter with the risen Jesus:
4 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said.
“I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.
17 Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”
21 All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
Saul has a complete and dramatic conversion, when directly confronted with the risen Jesus
It is the ultimate redemption story
More than an origin story: A redemption arc
Zuko
Saul was someone with intense drive and fervor
And this was once used against Jesus, and now it has been redirected in the name of Jesus
Saul was not beyond God’s reach
You see last week and this week show that God is for everyone—the lowest to the highest
The Eunuch was the ultimate outsider
Barbarian, Foreigner, Eunuch, far from God (and his temple)
Paul is the ultimate insider
Grew up wealthy, educated, a citizen of Rome, a Pharisee and devout Jew, a young man with access to the high priest
No one, from the highest to the lowest—is outside of the reach of God
Jesus didn’t come to reform the Jewish religious leaders in power—to correct their course
But Jesus also didn’t come to rebel against them—making a religion ‘of the people’
Jesus came to make a new way—and everyone is invited
And the cross is the level ground
And when we sit with these truths… we are reminded that we too are not beyond God’s reach
Truly, if God can save Saul—a persecutor and murderer of Christians
God can save you
We are not beyond God’s reach
We are not beyond God’s reach
As we continue Acts, we’ll see Saul come back up, but later in his life, Paul had this to say about his past:
13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.
Paul saw that even though he was opposed to and resisting Jesus for most of his early life—God had set him apart from his mother’s womb
And the same is true for us
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.
13 For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.
You have been thoughtfully and lovingly created by our God
He’s known you since before you were born
And he is totally commited to you
To bringing you back into his love
You see, Paul did not place his confidence in his clear track record, but in the grace of God
It wasn’t something he deserved or earned
“I created a path so that I might be useful to God”
It was only by the grace of God
God had created him for a specific purpose
And guys, we are really good at making excuses
Excuses of why God shouldn’t love us, why he shouldn’t use us, why we are beyond his reach
The problem is never that God gives up on us—but we give up on God
But what we see in Paul’s life—is that there is literally nothing we can do that will separate us from God
God’s love is so much greater than we can even comprehend
God’s love is so powerful that even his sworn enemies, he doesn’t give up on
And for us today: God has not and will never give up on you
And this is a truth that each of us has to sit with
Because we will fail, we will feel unworthy—but we have to remind ourselves that we are never beyond Gods grace
No sin can separate us from God
No failure can separate us from God
No amount of wasted life or time can separate us from God
Our parents will fail us, our friends will fail us, our pastors will fail us, our church will fail us — But God will never fail us
So I don’t know where each of us are today
But at the very least, if there's one thing you hear this morning: its that God has not given up on you, your situation, your struggles
Other’s are not beyond God’s reach
Other’s are not beyond God’s reach
This isn’t just a truth we need to internalize, but we are challenged to view others with the same grace God has for us
Paul was a clear and direct recipient of God’s grace
But did he receive that grace from others?
No
Jews wanted him dead (his own people)
The Jews in Damascus
23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him,
The Jews in Jerusalem
29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.
Christians didn’t trust him
21 All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.
But also, yes
Ananias—Accepted and baptized him
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.
Barnabas
27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.
As Christians, we are called to see others with the same grace God has for us:
God can transform anyone
No one is beyond God’s grace and reach
Who is the person or the people that you feel like God could never change?
Can we treat them with grace?
They may or may not change… because it takes their own will and initiative (free will)
But God doesn’t give up on these people… and neither should we
Our problem: We lock people out of change
Our judgements
Our hurts
But we can truly only see people with grace if we internalize and know the grace God has for us
I think this was key for Paul’s own ministry
He persevered and never gave up on people because he knew that God never gave up on him
He wasn’t trying to do it in his own strength
He was filled with so much love because he knew how much love God had for him
When we sit with how much grace God has shown us—We are compelled to have grace for others
It does something to us—transforms us
There are definitely more ways but I briefly want to talk about two ways that Paul recieved grace from others that we see in this story:
Bringing healing & Advocacy
Ananias — Bringing Healing
Ananias sought to heal and restore Saul—despite his reputation and past
For those difficult people, how can we bring healing to their lives?
Not just physical healing—emotional—relational—spiritual
And to bring healing—you need to know where they are hurt
We need compassion—and that compassion comes through the Holy Spirit
Especially when they are difficult people, our enemies — God desires to show them grace
Barnabas — Advocacy
Barnabas advocated for Saul—even when no one else trusted him
How can we speak well of and support others?
So often we use our words to tear others down
Or when people start speaking badly about another person we jump in on it—or we remain in silent agreement
But we can show tangible grace to people by advocating for them
Speaking up on their behalf
Defending them—by giving them a second chance—even if they have failed you or those around you
Without Barnabas—Paul would’ve been cast to the side by the disciples because of his past
But he received grace from those around him
Conclusion
Conclusion
Again in this story, we see that no one is beyond the grace of God
So today we are going to take some time to recenter our lives back on Jesus in communion
Knowing that Jesus died for you—to fill you with his grace and love so that we might do the same for others
If you’re struggling to receive grace from God—this is the time to ask him for help
If you’re struggling to show grace to others—this is the time to ask him for help
Each of us need God’s grace as we enter this new week
Small Group Questions
Small Group Questions
Icebreaker: Who is your favorite super hero? Why?
What stands out to you about the story of Saul’s conversion?
What keeps you from believing that God will not give up on you?
Why do you give up on people? How can we show others God’s grace?
