What are You Looking For?

Big Idea of the Message: Jesus is willing to meet you where you are today yet He doesn’t want you to stay put.

Looking

How many of us are looking for something;

We call that something happiness and it can come in many shapes or forms;

And we try to fill this happiness with stuff - toys, food, alcohol, shopping, hobbies, kids, sports, work, and so much more;

However do these things truly fulfill your happiness or is there still something missing, a void that can’t be explained;

Yet we continue to try and fill this emotion called happiness but the void seems to get deeper and deeper;

But does this void get deeper and deeper - because happiness is an emotion and emotion can change directions just like the wind;

So what happens when we can’t fulfill happiness - we say something like this “this is my life and I just need to settle for never finding true happiness” - and we turn back to our stuff or your presumed reason for being here;

This is where we catch up with Saul - Saul is zealous Orthodox Jew who’s purpose in life was to eliminate Christianity from the world;

He was not looking for anything other than maintaining his way of life and would use whatever means available and granted by the Sanhedrin (the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem);

He had such much rage towards “the way” that he was willing to travel six days, on foot, to find these “traders”;

Saul was looking for vengeance yet Jesus was looking for Saul and their paths crossed outside of Damascus;

Jesus is, figuratively because He knows right where are, looking for you and your paths will cross, hopefully today.

Blinding

Sometime we have to be blinded before we can see;

While this may seem like a contradiction it is true on many occasions;

Have you ever said or heard someone say “I never saw that coming” or “That hit me out of nowhere”;

Saul was not looking to cross paths with Jesus yet Jesus did and His presence was blinding;

Acts 9:3 says: “3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.”

Acts Christ’s Appearance to Paul (9:1–9)

The light represents the heavenly epiphany, the divine glory that enveloped the little caravan.

Could you imagine what that would be like just for a moment - in the middle of the day “around midday” and there was a little so over powering;

I know what your thinking - “Pastor there was no mention of “around midday” in those words you read at the beginning;

So let’s look at Acts 22:6 which says: “6 “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.”

And let’s look at Acts 26:13 which says: “13 at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.”

Acts Christ’s Appearance to Paul (9:1–9)

At the sight the awe-struck Paul fell to the ground, a reaction found in the Old Testament from those who experienced a similar divine visitation.

Jesus needed to bind Saul from his presumed purpose in order to open his eyes to his new divine purpose;

What does Jesus need to blind you from today?

Broken

There are moments in our life that we need to be blinded from what we are looking for, happiness, in order to be broken before Jesus and yes even people;

Saul was looking for vengeance, which was not his, he was blinded in the presence of Jesus and broken from himself;

Jesus revealed to Saul that his passion, desires and purpose where misplaced and could not fulfill his void;

Saul was broken, his life was turned upside down, but a new life was about to begin;

Now you maybe wondering what happened to Saul;

Because he aloud himself to be broken he recieved a new name which was Paul and he become even more zealous for Jesus - he shared Jesus with the Gentile (me and you), he planted churches throughout the region and was used by God to pen twenty-eight (28%) percent of the New Testament;

Acts 1. Paul’s New Witness to Christ (9:1–31)

For Luke and for Paul (cf. 1 Cor 15:9f.) there was no more certain evidence of God’s power and grace than in his transformation of the church’s persecutor into its greatest witness.

If Jesus can make a change in Paul’s life, He can do the same thing in yours right now;

What do you need to be broken from today?

Application Point: Jesus will patiently wait for your path to cross His at the very moment you think you are looking for something else.

The Cross