Grace Upon Grace
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
We Finished Chapter 8 last week. And one of the things that we looked at was a man named Phillip. And how God used this man to reach the area of Samaria.
we talked about the “Importance of every man”. in the eyes of God. WE looked at the parables in Luke 15 and looked at the shepherd who had the 99 sheep but lost one. Who he would search and look all over for the one lost sheep.
the parables in Luke 15 are meant to come along side of the teaching that Jesus was teaching , that God is concerned with every individual, and that he desires that every person would come to faith in Him, and that every person would enter into an intimate relationship with God.
This was evident in the story at the end of Acts 8. We saw this Ethiopian man who was on his way from Jerusalem after celebrating the passover and going back possibly to his home in Ethiopia, as we see that he is in Gaza, a desert place towards the South.
And in the story we see that the Holy Spirit spoke to Phillip and called him to go from the amazing work that is taking place in Samaria and to go to the desert of Gaza, without any explanation.
Now Phillip was obedient to the call of God and went down to Gaza. Once there he found this Ethiopian man reading the scroll of the book of Isaiah. And Phillip begins to ask if this man understands what he is reading.
Phillip would begin to explain the portion of the scripture that is speaking about the Messiah and his suffering and how Jesus was the Messiah and the one he was reading about. This man would come to believe in Jesus and would be baptized. We saw that it is believed that the gospel message was brought into the area of Ethiopia through this man.
The whole story gives us this great insight that God is so concerned about every individual , just like the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15, that he prepares the entire situation , including moving Phillip who was miles away to be the vessel that God could use , in order to change this Ethiopian mans life, in order to change the lives of many in the Ethiopian area.
Transition
This is important to remember as we move on into chp 9 today. Because we begin to see the same thing.
God is Concerned with Every Person
No person is too far from God
What we are going to look at today is the conversion of one of the greatest men, Saul of Tarsus, or Paul the Apostle
The same Saul that we left off with in Acts 8
Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
If you remember in Acts 7, we saw the martyr of a man named Stephen , he was stoned to death after this amazing sermon, and those who stoned him set their clothes at the feet of a man named Saul.
This same man Saul was the man who was authorizing the killing of a christian man, he was authorizing the killing of many Christians during this time. For it tells us that he was making havoc for the church, he was entering every house and dragging off men and women and putting them in prison
Nazi Picture
The best picture to have in your mind of what it must have been like , would be the Nazis in Germany who under the control of Adolf Hitler , who began to take on this extermination plan, of getting rid of Jewish people.
And just like the Jewish people during this time in Europe, it started with the identification of the Jews, then they began to take away jobs, to isolate them, then the hostility really picked up and they would break down doors in homes looking for Jews in order to send them to concentration camps, and many of these men and women were killed in these camps.
we have seen movies , read books about these horrific things that happened. In that same way you can begin to image what the persecution under the hand of this Saul of Tarsus was like as he is bringing havoc to the Church.
Entering homes and bringing out men and women out of their homes and charging them as followers of Jesus Christ, where they would be taken to prison and where some would be killed.
A great movie to watch for reference on this is “ The Apostle Paul”. The movie does a great job of placing the reality of what it must have been like under the persecution of Saul of Tarsus, and also of the persecution of the Roman government. It paints a good picture in your mind.
And this is where we pick up the story in Chp. 9
I. Saul on His Personal Path (v.1-2)
Read v. 1-2
So we see the story pick up right where we left off. It tells us that Saul is still breathing threats and murder against the disciples. He is in an all out war against Christians .
and what we see is that this man is under the impression that he is a warrior of God, called to put an end to these people and the false teaching of Jesus as the Messiah.
You see this as he goes to the High Priest to get letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, or to get Authority from this religious leader to continue to exterminate the people of the way, these followers of Jesus
His intent is to bring people of the way, Christians bound to Jerusalem to put them in prison
Transition
What we need to understand is that Saul was a man who had a lot of Zeal in his faith. He was a man who had passion for God and was under the assumption that he was doing great things for God , but the reality was that he was not on the path that God had for him, but he was“ On his own Path”
And Part of being on his own path meant that Saul....
A. Had His Own Approach to God ( Phil. 3:3-6)
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Paul here as he speaks to the believers in Phillpi begins to address his background and it gives us insight into who he was and what he did in his attempt to please God.
He tells us that if anyone should be confident in their religious upbringing and their keeping of the law it was him, because he kept the law, he was circumcised on the 8th day as was the law, he was of the tribes of Israel, he could trace his blood line to the tribe of Benjamin, he was considered a Hebrew of Hebrews
He was a Pharisee, the most religious group concerning the law, his passion and zeal was seen in his persecution of the church, he was blameless in keeping the law.
in other words Saul was attempting to please God and to reach a right standing with God on his own merrits, his own works and the things he did for God.
And this really was the mentality of the religious leaders at the time. That in order to have a right standing with God, the law must be kept. And not just the law of Moses that was given by God, but also the law and the religious rituals put in place by religious teachers and rabbis.
So this gives us insight into what Saul must have been thinking during this time, that he is doing a good thing for God, by being extremely religious, by keeping the law, and now by putting an end to those who would be bring false teachings ( False in his mind) . God would be pleased with him.
Transition
now as we see here, having our own approach to God will lead us to have our own mission
B. Saul’s Personal Mission
Turn with me to Acts 26: 1-11
Paul as he is speaking with King Agrippa begins to give his testimony , tells him like we looked at already that he had his own approach to God on the basis of his own works.
the same way that these men who are charging Paul in Chapter 26 were, these men were hoping to attain the promises of God, and they worked night and day to attain these promises, this is what they hoped for, and it was this hope of attaining the promises of God, and of attain a right standing with God that lead them to charge Paul..
and Paul tells us in Acts 26: 9-11, that it was this mentality that these men had, was the same mentality he had and what lead him to go on his own mission to please God.
“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
understand what Paul is saying here. Because he had a wrong understanding of what God desired , it lead him to live life in complete opposition to God, and it lead him down a road that was full of evil and sin. All the while he was convinced that he was doing what pleased God.
Transition
This is important to pick up on. Because the reality is that many people in our society have this same mindset that Paul had. That if i become a good moral person, if i keep the laws of our land , if i help my neighbors...... if i help clean the environment then i am a good person, and God will be pleased with me.
And while these things are good , they cannot bring me in a right standing with God.
As Christians we can even get caught up in this mentality. If i come to church, if i serve at church , if i go to a retreat, if i read my bible… then God will be pleased with me.
and our approach to God can become of what i have to do to try to please Him. Which will lead me down a road of endless failed pursuits of pleasing God, or it can lead us into false security..... thinking that i just have to do good things and God will be pleased with me, and fail to realize what God actually wants.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
What David is writing here in his brokeness and repenting, is that God is not concerned with our works for God. He does not desire us to do things for God to receive a right standing with Him. But what God desires is a broken heart before Him.
He desires a heart that has come to the end of himself and is seeking a right standing based on what God has done for him.
Question
HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING GOD TODAY?
Things are about to change for Saul
II. Saul Get Puts on a New Path (v.3-5)
Read V. 3-5
We see here an amazing thing begin to happen. He is on his way to Damascus from Jerusalem something happens.
We are told that a light shone around him from heaven and he fell to the ground
now to get a full picture we understand where he is and what time of day it is.
he is on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus which is in Syria. And the road from Jerusalem to Syria is very desert like . We are told in Acts 26 by Paul himself that this account happened at midday, or at noon.
so you picture walking along this desert area where there is not much shade, at noon when it is the hottest and when the sun is shinning the brightest. It is at this time and place that God reveals himself and His glory is so bright , brighter than the noon sun in the desert, that it knocks him off of his horse.
He hears a voice say “ Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And Saul cries out, “who are you , Lord”, it is like a term of respect. Almost like asking “ who are you, sir?”.
And Jesus responds, “ I am Jesus who you are persecuting “>
transition
This is crazy scene right. Jesus reveals himself and his glory knocks this man off of his horse and Jesus asked Saul this question ...
Why are you persecuting Me?
this is a neat statement, because in Saul’s mind he was serving God by persecuting these believers of Jesus. Now here he gets a clear picture...
That Jesus is God
you see this in His revelation here . Jesus is the one speaking to him from Heaven. The same Jesus who he was calling a heritic, the people he persecuted were those who believed that Jesus was God.
2. That the persecution is not only to His people , but it is a direct assault on God himself.
This is a real comforting thing to know and understand. That the attacks that you and I may receive, the names we get called, the jokes that people make of us, is not just against you..... but they are against God himself.
And God is able to defend you and I , he is with us and for us.
3. Saul was on the Wrong Path
Saul’s mind has just been blown. Everything that he thought was right, was completely wrong. He thought he was working for God, yet in reality he was working against God.
His approach to God and what he was doing for God to have a right standing was wrong. The people he killed indirectly , were innocent.
Transition
Is it hard for you to kick against the goads.
this is an interesting thing that Jesus said to Saul. He said it is hard for him to kick against the goads.
This is a statement that would have made sense to the people in this culture and time. A goad was a large pointy stick that was used with livestock like donkeys or ox.
and what it was , was that when you would want the animal that you are working with to go a different direction , or on a different path you would normally use the reigns.
but if the animal was stubborn and did not want to go in the direction that you were trying to take him, you would take this stick and would prod him with it , making it difficult for him to fight against it until he finally goes in the direction that the master wishes.
what Jesus is saying to Saul here is that he has been trying to get his attention . He has been trying to get Saul off of his own path, off of his own mission and to go in the direction that Jesus wants for him.
And Saul has been stubborn to what God is trying to do in him. And all of the things that have been happening to him have been God trying to get ahold of him , bringing conviction to him, including the death of Stephen. Even as Saul stood and watched this innocent man be stoned to death, God was using that to bring conviction to Saul, and yet he continued to fight. Until God gets his attention here.
Transition
i want you to see the application here. Because for many here, you are just like Saul. You have been on your own path, you have established your way to approach God, you have fallen to false security thinking that you are in a good place with God because of the things you do.
and yet God is constantly trying to draw you into a right relationship with Him, He uses His Holy Spirit to convict you, and to make you aware of your sins, He uses His word. And you and i can be stubborn like Saul, even in the face of full conviction, we can sit in bible studies and still refuse to surrender to God. We refuse to surrender in brokenness before as is his desire.
God will continue to make the road hard for you to reject Him , just like a goad prodding the ox, so will God continue to prod you with His Holy Spirit until he gets your attention.
Don’t wait until you are like Saul, on a path of full sin, doing things that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Things that you cannot undo. Today is the day to turn back to God and get on the path he has for you.
Question
WHAT PATH ARE YOU ON TODAY? ARE YOU ON YOUR OWN PATH OR THE PATH THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU?
Transition
things change for Saul. ..
Saul gains a new approach to God
while he attempted to find a good standing with God before based on his works, now he finds the true way to approach God, We approach Go by His grace. It has nothing to do with anything that we could do , for the bible tells us that our works are like filthy rags.
But God has made a way for us to be forgiven and to be able to approach God, because of the death of Jesus on the cross. We now have access to God not because we deserve it , but by Gods grace. His unmerritted favor. it means we did not earn it , but God gave us a way to have a relationship with him through faith in Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
This is a man responsible for the death many people, a part of some real evil things. How is a person made right with God after a life like Saul’s.
By the grace of God. The reality is that we are all in the same position as Saul, sinful, guilty of breaking God’s law, unable to do what is right. And yet it is by the Grace of God that you and i are saved.
If God is willing and able to reach out to a person responsible for the murder of innocent people, how much more is God able and willing to reach out to you.
no matter what you have done in the past, God can forgive you. There is nothing that you and I have done that is too great for God’s forgiveness to cover.
Transition
i am reminded of the story of Jim Elliot. He was a missionary in Ecuador to an indiginous people the Huaroani . Jim Elliot and 4 other men were speared to death in the jungle trying to establish a relationship with this tribe in 1956.
one of these men was Nate Saint, the pilot of their plane. The families of these men who were killed continued to do missionary work with these tribes. And through the amazing work of God’s grace, the very man who had speared these men, became a Christian . He would eventually become a preacher of the gospel to his tribe and he would develop such a close relationship with the son of the man he killed.
How does God forgive someone like that. How does God forgive you and I. THE GRACE OF GOD.
Transition
For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Saul has a new perspective of God and of himself. He understands that in him is nothing good, but it is by God’s grace that he is saved.
B. Saul gets a new Mission
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
God was giving Saul a new approach to God, through God’s grace, but now he is also redirecting his path . God is placing him on the right mission. A mission to be a vessel under the hand of God.
God had a purpose for Saul and it was to be a vessel to minister the good news of God’s grace and forgiveness to the world. But Saul had to first come and experience that forgiveness and that Grace first.
we will look at this more as we go on in the story
v.6
Saul here asked God a question
WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?
This is a great question to ask. He has been living his life the way he thought was right. He has approached God in the wrong way. The right thing is to ask God what he wants him to do.
Question
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU ASKED GOD, WHAT SHALL I DO?
We tend to have a way of telling God what we want him to do in our lives. We tend to tell God what we want to do for him, or what he should do for us. But when was the last time that you asked God what he desires from you?
God tells him to get up and go into the city and there he would be told what to do.
C. Saul is lead to Damascus (v. 7-9)