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Introduction
Dismiss Children
Enjoyed our family night last week.
We got to enjoy a meal, some games, and heard some share what they love about their church.
Looking forward to the end of March, the 27th, for our Master Clubs grand Prix night.
Our LBC Kids program will be running the night with a pinewood derby competition for children and adults.
More details to follow on how to get registered for that to take part of that night.
If your not participating come out and support our kids and adults who are going for the W.
Today we are continuing in our gospel story series.
We are in Acts 9.
The book of Acts was written by Luke, the same one who wrote the gospel of Luke.
It is a letter to his friend Theopholis written around 62 ad and establishing the validity of the church and Christianity.
In Acts 9 we encounter a man that is used greatly by God.
He was a murderous man with much hatred in his heart.Not the typical description of someone you hear about that God used greatly huh?
While I was in Yuma Arizona, we had a church planter come through.
When presenting his ministry he was giving his testimony.
At 13 or 14 years old in Los Angeles, his mother had to contact a boys home in Montana to come get him.
He had been involved with gangs, sold drugs, and other things.
When they came for him they kidnapped him.
His mother let them into their apartment and then they busted down his door, put a hood over his head, zip tied his wrists, and put him in a van and drove from LA to Montana.
He said he thought he was going to be executed by a rival gang.
After some time at the boys home in Montana, he repented, got saved, and then went on to Bible College.
When I met him, he was raising to little children and planting a church in LA.
I told him after hearing his testimony “I can’t believe that’s who you were back then.”
He looked at me and something ot the effect “That’s kind of the point to the gospel, isn’t it?”
The man we are going to encounter today is Saul.
Not the Saul of the Old Testament, this is Saul of Tarsus.
Saul of Tarsus is like the church planter i met in Arizona.
He was a vile man.
He is considered to be responsible for the martyrdom of Stephen, one of the first deacons.
He had been going house to house to find Christians and kill them for their faith.
That’s exactly where we pick up in chapter 9 of Acts
Acts 9:1-2
Exegete: These two verses really serve as an introduction for us this morning.
Saul was still threatening and slaughtering disciples of Jesus.
He event went so far as to gather others with him.
He had already been with the crowd that stoned Stephen.
It’s not wrong to assume he already had people helping him go house to house with him.
Notice that…He went house to house.
Not church to church.
Why?
There were no church buildings in that day.
What if God took away our church building?
Would anyone know your a Christian?
-That’s a message for another day.
Saul has now went to the high priest to get permission from them to put men and women in jail for their faith from other areas besides just Jerusalem.
He was intent on stopping the message of Jesus from getting out.
This is Saul.
This is the one we will come to know as Paul.
The writer of most of the New Testament.
The one used by God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles.
He hated Christians, he hated Jesus and anyone or anything related to the Christian faith.
Illustrate: I believe he was a man with evil in his heart.
He is not someone we would want to spend time with.
You wouldn’t go looking for Saul to teach a seminar on “mercy and grace in the face of your enemies.”
He was more of a “how to jail a Christian in 3 easy steps” kind of guy.
Apply: This understanding of Saul who will soon be called Paul is important to us.
Why?
When Paul wrote
1 Tim 1:15
He wasn’t just portraying a false humility.
He was being honest and sincere.
He was being transparent and authentic.
While our righteousness is filthy rags and as James said if we violate one part of the law we are guilty of the whole…most of us can’t say we have murdered anyone.
We haven’t stoned someone to death or been apart of a mob of people that sought to kill someone just because of their faith.
Our sin is no better however I know our minds think like this.
We don’t put our pride on the same level as murder.
It is and even murder isn’t mentioned as an abominable sin but pride is.
It’s important for us to see Saul’s past and understand that we are no different than he is.
We have a past.
We have sin in our life.
None of us are perfect.
Yet in Saul’s sin, in our sin…Jesus still pursued him and pursues us.
Because
I.
No past is more powerful than Jesus’ Passion
Your past, your sin have no power over the passion of Jesus.
What he did for you and I on the cross overcomes your past sins, your present sins, and your future sins.
When Jesus died being omniscient God He knew the sins of Dustin Alley.
He knew the sins I committed yesterday, He knew the sins I will commit today, and He knew the sins I am going commit tomorrow.
Yet He still went through His passion and died for me.
He still pursued me when I didn’t deserve it.
Jesus pursues you and you don’t deserve it.
None of us do.
Listen to how Paul met Jesus
Acts 9:3-9
Exegete:
Saul Got permission to go to Damascus and arrest believers with others.
On the road to Damascus he and his companions fall to the ground from a flash of light and Saul sees Jesus.
Jesus calls out to Saul “Why are you persecuting me?”
Saul, with an immediate acknowledgment of the divine power that is before him says “Who are you Lord?”
Jesus reveals who he is and makes a statement that we might not understand
“It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
This is a statement that refers to the pricks of a caddle prod or “ox goad” that was used to move an ox forward by the farmer.
Without hesitation now Paul is submitting to the Lord
“What would you have me do?”
“Go to the city and it will be told to you.”
He gets up and is blind.
The men around him lead him to Damascus.
In Sauls sinful state he found himself pursued by Christ.
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