Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Introduction
What gets your attention.
Are you the type of person who is easily distracted by the many distractions around you?
Look at that wall
The popular movie called “up” had a dog character who would bring about a pop culture phrase called
Squirrel.
This showed us the idea how easily, even the faithful man’s best friend can easily be distracted.
Another way of getting you attention is to follow someone with passion, charisma, or direction.
It captivates you as you are looking for direction in your life.
The final, by no means, exhaustive, one is the driven person.
Once a notion is in the mind of the driven person, nothing can remove that drive.
This driven trait can appear in many forms from competitions to simple tasks or even finding that special widget on the internet that no one seems to be able to locate.
Driven people can’t be stopped, or can they?
Which camp can you identify with?
This morning, as we continue our series looking into the beginning of the movement found in the book of Acts the attention moves but for a moment from the followers of Christ to a Pharisee named Saul.
Turn we me and we will read a part of the text we are going to look at this morning.
Let’s Pray
Saul’s Encounter With Christ
If you haven’t figured out yet Saul was one of those men who were driven.
I did a bit of research this week and here is a summary of what I found out about the man, Saul.
Taken from a commentary
Saul was both a Hebrew Pharisee and a man of the world.
Born and raised by Hebrew parents in Hellenistic Tarsus, he had both Hebrew tradition and Greek culture flowing in his nature.
At an early age, his parents’ stature and resources, plus his own brilliance, had won him the sought-after privilege of studying under Gamaliel, the greatest Hebrew intellectual of the time.
Saul had distinguished himself as a resourceful scholar and natural leader.
He became a member of the strict sect of the Jewish religion called the Pharisees.
They were committed to return the nation to impeccable obedience to the Law and the traditions.
And yet, Saul had not lost his knowledge of and conditioning by the highly intellectual atmosphere of the Hellenistic world.
Tarsus had one of the three greatest universities of the time, behind only Athens and Alexandria.
Saul spoke fluent Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
He was exactly the kind of man Jesus needed to lead His movement.
While Saul was tracking down His followers, the Lord was tracking him, waiting for the right moment.
The Lord was setting the stage.
The very one whose persecution had caused some of the Lord’s people to flee to Damascus and start strong churches there would be central in the Lord’s strategy for the future.
Now that you have a picture of the man look back at the text
Acts 9:1 (ESV)
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, ......
Last week Pastor Josh walked us through the story of Stephen and his last days.
Saul was there, He was there watching in delight
One could even say that he was fueled by this action found in Acts 7 to be driven to eradicate all those who are following the “Way of the man from Nazareth.
“
You must realize that Saul was driven to serve God.
He knew God’s message to the people, He most likely could recite verses by heart and could out smart any debate on the Old Testament of his contemparies of his day.
Saul’s Purpose
Saul set out on a journey, with letters from the High Priest.
Saul set out what he believed was a justified mission with letters to prove it.
Stated this way
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9: John and Acts (1.
The Christ Encounter on the Damascus Road (9:1–9))
More important, however, in days when the rabbis viewed the keeping of the Mosaic law as the vitally important prerequisite for the coming of the Messianic Age
What is your purpose in life?
Is God’s Word the source of you purpose?
Is it the source of wisdom we first turn to when we are drawn to a task or course of our lives?
WHAT DRIVES YOU, WHAT MESSAGE FROM GOD DRIVES YOU?
Saul’s Encounter
Saul begins his journey with a group of followers to gather up all those who have fled from Jerusalem.
They begin the journey but their plan comes to a quick stop.
Have you ever been on stage with an old style spotlight.
You know the ones where there is an operator behind the light and sends a powerful beam to spotlight the person on the stage.
Luke describes it simply as a light from Heaven, but Paul later in Acts describes it as more than just a light.
I’m sure if you are a doubter of the power of God you would simple state that the clouds were blocking the light and they opened enough to see the sun through the clouds.
But as a follower of the all powerful God, Folks, I believe that God has the ability to direct the sun’s power to a designated area.
In fact, I would say that at that moment the brightness was from the risen saviour, Jesus Christ and all his brightness shinning forth to speak to Saul.
Saul, Saul.....
The voice sounds out.
A formal way of getting ones attention.
Our parents call out our full name, but Jesus called out to get the attention of the driven man.
Notice it wasn’t
Saul, what are you doing?
Saul, what makes you think this is what the God of the Universe is seeking your help?
Christ calls out.
Why are you persecuting me!
Someone wrote this reflecting on this verse
No language can express the affecting character of this question, addressed from the right hand of the Majesty on high to an infuriated, persecuting mortal.
Christ calls out to speak to Saul.
Christ the risen saviour
who is at the right hand of God
Calls out
yet take a moment to look at Saul’s response
Who are you Lord.
Lord a description of that of a master, but at this point in Saul’s life, He still hasn’t come into a personal relationship with the Risen Lord.
I wonder how many of our friends and family members who we are praying for to come into a relationship with our saviour have had encounters with Christ.
Has Christ in some way reached out to them, maybe not to this extent in the text, but has called out to them.
You see, until people see and hear, and believe in the Risen saviour they are still blinded by their ignorance of the presence of the Lord.
But God is never satisfied with people’s ignorance as with the case of Saul.
He will never stop going after the lost and misguided.
No matter what is blocking or standing in the way of people, God is going after the lost.
Saul cries out
Who are you Lord.
The answer Christ gives him will shock him and change his life for ever.
“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”
Here are some of the most revolutionary words ever spoken.
Jesus, whom Paul opposed as an imposter and blasphemy, answers him as the Lord in heaven!
When Paul re lives this moment in time he tells the story this way,
Kick against the Goads?
If you read through the book of Acts, there are three accounts of this story of Paul’s road to Damascus experience, (Chapter 9, 22, and 26)
This account is the only one where this expression is used.
For the Greek world of the time in which the audience begin address in this chapter, this expression is a well known expression.
It was a common idiom used to describe ones opposition to a deity.
Paul used this expression in his presentation to the audience that was mainly Greek background to show the importance of defining Christ as God.
Speaking in the Hebrew language, and using a Greek idiom would show to the listeners that this God is the God for all Jews and Greeks.
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