Untitled Sermon (3)

Prologue

Paul Scott set at this desk, it was dark outside and he was looking at the evening news on his Laptop. The headlines where about the pandemic spreading across the land again, politicians fighing over taxes, and a note about a local church speaking out against the goverment forced vacination.

Paul turned to his co worked Mr Stevens and said can you belive this chruch speaking out, saying that God is the answer not the vacine, who do these people think they are. Don’t they know there is no God.

Paul had been raised in a christian family and had grown up in the church, but after highschool Paul had left home to go off to collage and then had dropped out after two years to work int he construction field and had done well. He had worked his way up from a site labor to an Assistant Projecct manager in just 5 years, however he had walked away form the chruch. Then in the last year and after seeing all the death from the pandemic and seeing no answer from God and no involment in it by the chruch, Paul had walked away from God and come to resent the chruch and had even start to tell others that there was no God.

He was even now taking to arguing wth his family about there belief in God and why they waisted there time going to chruch and worshiping a God who didn’t care about them.

CH - Pauls heart changed.

It was late fall when Paul was wakedn by the phone ringing on the table, he had gotten up to answer the phone, it was his yongest sister on the line, she was calling to tell him his brother Don had passed away. Paul was shocked he wasn’t even aware his brother had been sick let alone to the point that he might die, and yet here was his sister telling him he was gone. Paul feel back into the chair next to the phone and weeped, “how could this be, how could this god that his family believed in be so mean and cold hearted as to take his brother form him”. how could there be a god who would let miillions die and now his brother as well

Paul had lost his mom and dad years before but that was to old age but to take his middle aged brother was beyond reasonable. “ what the hell” he screamed, “How could a God who was suppose to love you do this”, Paul deciede he was going to set people straight and he was going to tell them all that there was no God, he was going to go after the chruch and after God. Starting with his family. So Paul packed his clothes and loaded his car to set out for Wisconsin and the family and chruch he had grown up in. He was gong to set them straight once and for all.

Paul was on his way up I-75 just outside of Iowa when he came up on a lot of traffic. him and all the cars around him had come to complete stop. Paul step out of the car when a bright light filled the sky and shined all around him. The other drivers where blinded by the light as well, and paul was overcome and fell to the ground. Laying there face down Paul heard a loud voice say to him. “Paul why do you blame me, why have you turned your back on me, why do you want to persecute me?

Paul answerd,” who are you?”. “ I am Jesus whom your are persecuting and who’s name you are taking in vain.” Now get up and Go into the town of Iowa and you will learn what to do next.

Paul stumbled to his feet but he couldn’t see it was as if the light was still shinning, A police officer passing by and stopped to give him a hand, and was told of the bright light , most of the people told him it was lighting but the one’s closer to where Paul had fallen also said they had heard voices as well. Paul was shakend and crying for being so over welmed. So the office escorted him to the hospital in iowa.

Paul was checked by the doctors who found nothing physically wrong with him other than the fact that he couldn’t see and was talking about having heard a voice talk to him from the light. A local pastor name Scott was at the Hospital that night and stopped by to see the new patchent. Scott sat and talked with paul awhile and Paul recounted the events of the night to him. Scott was taken back when Paul explained the voice had said he was jesus and that he should go on to the town and that he would hear from him again, atleast that is what Paul thought jesus had meant. Scott had never heard of any one actually hearing the verbal words of God other than in the bible. He’d known of finding understanding from reading the word and of feeling Gods presence but never had he heard of anyone in todays time having actually claimed to have heard the voice of God. Scott and Paul sat and talked awhile more before scott dismised himself to head home for dinner, but before leaving he had told Paul he would be back the next day to see him.

Scott had driven home from the hospital and had stopped by his chruch to check on the buildng and make sure everything was secure before proceeding on home to his wife and son. Scott found the building was locked up and all was secure and had just gotten back into his ford pickup and turned on the radio just intime to hear the nightly news anchor reporting on the traffic jam and the lighting strike that had blinded an out of town man, some of the poeple interviewed had said they had heard noises from the area engulfed with the light but hadden’t been able to see who was talking or make out what they had said.

Pastor scotth thought to himself “ Could this realy be true had this stranger heard the voice of God, Could the light they saw have actually been Jesus?”,. The thought was on his mind as he pulled into his driveway and shut off the truck. As he thoght about it that night he remembered a member of his congragation had once told his story about seeing Jesus and how he had been overwhlemed by his presence, later that night setting in his study scott open his bible to the book of Acts Chapter 9 and ready again of the story of Saul, and as he was reading the words moved his soal here was another Paul who had also seen jesus and heard from him, so again he thought could this be real, and headed off to bed.

it was about 1Am when scott was moved, he was laying awake in his bed, his wife still asleep at his side, but it was like he was still asleep, and then he heard this voice in his head and he knew it was God. “Yes lord, he answered. and these words appread in his mind - Go to Paul tomorrow and pray for him and place your hands on his eyes and pray that his vision will be restored.

Paul also, had a restless night he was haunted and scared by the thoughts that he would never see again, but then around 1am his mind had calmed and he saw in a dream, pastor scott came and prayed for him and his sight was restored upon his touch. Paul wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or imagining what he wanted to happen but then he heard the voice again in his head say to him this will happen just as you have seen so that you will know that I am who I say I am. Paul tosed and turned the rest of the night, debating in his head if this was real or just a day dream.

The sun was just raising when Scott was lead into Pauls room, Scott shared with Paul the vision he had and then knelt infront of Paul to pray. “ Dear jesus, we trust in you, so hear our prayers and restor this mans sight that he may know you are God and that he may receive your holy spirit in Jesus Name” Then Scott placed his hands uppon Pauls eyes and prayed - Lord jesue you are our healer and we are your servents so by the power of your blood may his eyes be healed,Amen” as scott removed his hands scales feel from Pauls eyes and imediealty he was able to see and praised God. They called for the doctors who couldn’t explain why his vision had returned, but they checked him out and found it had been fully restored. Scott invited Paul to stay with him and his family awhile and Paul was happy to accept, he wanted to learn more about what had happened and more about this jesus, who was alive and who he had not only heard speak but who he had seen.

Pauls - Questions and answers.

Paul had spent a week with the Pastor Scott and his wife but the time for the funeral in Wisconsin was drawing near so Paul knew he would need to leave soon. Scott had been impressed by Pauls undertanding of the bible and the two had spend hours talking about what Paul had seen and heard and what it could mean and what was next for Paul. Paul knew that what had happened was something special and he knew he was suppose to share it but he didn’t know how. He figured he would start with his family when he seen them at the funal next week, so he said his good by to Scott and his family and once again packed up and headed out again, but this time with a new goal to tell his family what had happend and to figure out what the next step would be.