God, the Great Attention Getter.

Title: God, the Great Attention Getter.

Text: Acts 9:1-9.

CIT: The conversion of Saul.

Thesis: Having a divine experience with God.

Purpose: Salvation/Didactic.

Introduction

At a train station, a policeman noticed a woman driver leaning over her steering wheel in evident discomfort.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked.

Half crying and half laughing, the woman replied, “For ten years I have driven my husband to this station to catch the train. This morning, I forgot him!”

That is about the way life goes at times, doesn’t it? Win some, lose some.

It’s kind of like the soldier at the rifle tournament. After the competition was over, he was really depressed over his performance. He turned in his card to the sergeant, and said,

“I feel like shooting myself."

The sergeant looked at his card and said,

“Better take two or three bullets”

Sometimes life can be so bad that we just want to do ourselves in, so to speak. But some people have such a hard time in life that they couldn’t even hang themselves if they tried.

The apostle Paul was no different. He experienced good times and bad. Up times and down times. But Paul’s down times often led him to greater things in life.

Our text in Acts 9 gives us a look at Paul’s up and down life and how he came out a better, smarter man. First, notice:

I. The Determination of Saul (Acts 9:1-3a).

And Saul yet breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus…

When you examine the life of Saul of Tarsus, the least a person can say about him is that he was determined. What made him so determined? First,

a. Saul Was Proud of His Intelligence.

Saul was from Tarsus. It was one of the three great university cities in that day. That was probably like saying, “I grew up in Omaha”or “I grew up in Lincoln.”

Paul was able to rub shoulders with the wisest men of his day and feel comfortable.

· He could go to Athens and debate the intellectuals.

· He could go to Corinth and speak the language of the Hedonists.

· He could go to Jerusalem and debate with the theologians.

· He could get on board a ship and discuss weather and navigation with the captain.

Paul was a prideful man because of his intellect. Like Moses, he had the best of worldly education. Then,

b. Saul Was Proud of His Religion.

Saul was far sighted and intelligent enough to see that there could be no peaceful coexistence between Judaism and Christianity. Either Judaism was right, and Christianity was apostasy, or Christianity was right, and Judaism was obsolete.

Saul’s birth, beliefs, and background all drove him into a head-on confrontation with the Christians. He concluded, logically enough from his own biased point of view, that Christ was a blasphemer and Christianity a cult.

Because Jesus of Nazareth was dead, nothing could be done about Him. Christianity, however, was something else; the sooner it was dead and buried, the better for everyone. Saul was determined to expunge Christianity from the face of the earth.

Once he had the approval of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, he started off on his 175-hundred-mile, six-day trip to Damascus. On their last day, something happened. Notice:

II. The Divine Appointment of Saul (9:3b-8a).

… and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” And Paul said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you persecute: it is hard for you to kick against the pricks.

And Paul said, “What will You have me to do?” And the Lord said unto him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told you what you must do. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man…

I have often tried to imagine just what happened the day as Saul met Jesus face to face. God was going to turn a mission of hate into a message from heaven for Saul.

Saul saw a light and heard a voice from heaven; for a devout Jew, this would always mean a word from God. The result of this encounter was a miracle. First, he saw:

a. A Great Light.

This was no ordinary light. Remember it shone at midday. Saul describes it as “a light from heaven, brighter than the sun.” It was bright enough to knock Paul and the men with him to their knees. God got Paul’s attention.

When your Divine Appointment time comes God will get your attention. My appointment wasn’t a bright light, I wasn’t knocked to my knees, but God got my attention, and I knew God wanted to communicate to me my lostness.

b. A Great Voice.

Saul crouched, waiting for the thunder. It came not in a rumble in the sky, but in a powerful voice from heaven. Saul shuddered with the majesty and magnitude of the sound. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

1. There was authority,

2. There was judgment,

3. There was grace,

4. There was urgency in that voice.

“Who are You, Lord?” Saul replied with trembling voice. And then the answer came which the Pharisee would never forget. “I am Jesus.” Then, there was:

c. A Great Lord.

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus was no case for the deacon Philip, however faithful; Saul was made of different stuff than the Ethiopian.

Nor was it a case for the Apostle Peter, however zealous; Saul was no Cornelius.

The conversion of Saul was undertaken by the Lord Himself. “Who are You, Lord?”

“I am Jesus.” Paul was aghast, stunned!

· He had been persecuting the Messiah of Israel,

· The Son of David,

· The Son of God.

· He had laid violent hands upon those beloved of heaven,

· The very members of the Body of Christ.

· It was all true!

Jesus of Nazareth was:

· God the Son,

· Born of a virgin,

· Unique in His person,

· Marvelous in His life,

· Falsely accused and callously rejected by the very Sanhedrin he served, and crucified (oh, crowning horror!) at the insistence of the Jews and at the hands of Rome.

· But now, He who had been buried was raised again in power was, in very truth, the ever living One at God’s right hand.

What a mighty God we serve. That is who Paul met at noon on the way to Damascus. WOW!

I met Jesus on a Thursday afternoon at First Baptist Church of Carthage, MO. I went there to be counselled about my upcoming marriage. It was to be one of the hoops that I had to endure to get married and I wanted to get married.

Little did I suspect that Jesus would show up, but He did. As we sat down and after a time of prayer, the pastor gave us each a little Testament that was marked with the Romans Road.

As he shared Scripture about Jesus and sin, I was convicted of my sinfulness. I mean big time sin. I had killed people, I had sex outside of marriage, I was my own god and the God who created me and loved me wasn’t even in the equation. I coveted. I had hatred in my heart towards folks. I was a bigtime sinner.

That afternoon, on my Damascus Road, I met the Lord, and He gave me a special gift, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life.

How about you? Have met my Jesus? Have you turned from your sin and turned to Christ and Christ alone for salvation? Today is your special day. He is here and want to do a great work in your heart just like He did Saul’s and mine.

In a moment we are going to give you that special opportunity to come and do business with the Savior of the world. Do not turn away. Next, we find:

III. The Discipleship of Saul (9:8b-9).

And Paul trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what will You have me to do?” And the Lord said to him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told what you must do … they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

What do you say after the Lord radically gets your attention? The same thing Paul said, “Lord, what will You have me to do?”

That is discipleship. God I will go where you want me to go, do what you want me to do, You are my God.

When I met Jesus, I made Him my everything. I didn’t know how much my everything was, but He had it. He still does.

Have you done that? Made Him your everything? Why not do that today?

Conclusion

I want us to pause for a moment to reflect on what that Divine Encounter really means to us and the people to whom we communicate.

1. Life really begins with a divine encounter with Jesus Christ. You are either being prepared for that encounter, or you are living in the assurance of it.

2. The Lord prepares us for that encounter with the “goads” or prickly questions which won’t go away and a deep disease (sin) which only He can resolve.

3. He is gracious to love us to the end of our own resources so that we can listen to what He has to say to us.

4. He has a plan for your life which you discover only after you have met Him. A guided life is a life in fellowship with Him.

5. He will use another person to confirm our encounter so that we can know both the joy of fellowship with Him and other believers.

Conversion never happens in a vacuum of independence. It leads to a declaration of interdependence.

Invitation

We have come to that time, the time of decision. God has spoken today, what are you going to do with what He has said?

Do you need to turn from your sin receive Him as your Savior?

Do you need to rededicate your life to Him?

Do you need to come and pray for someone who needs Jesus as Savior or Maybe they need to come back to a full faith in Jesus? It might be that you need to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism or church membership. I invite you to come.