Sermon Tone Analysis
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9 Meanwhile, Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.
He went to the high priest, 2 seeking letters to the synagogues in Damascus.
If he found persons who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
3 During the journey, as he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven encircled him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me?”
5 Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
“I am Jesus, whom you are harassing,” came the reply.
6 “Now get up and enter the city.
You will be told what you must do.”
7 Those traveling with him stood there speechless; they heard the voice but saw no one.
8 After they picked Saul up from the ground, he opened his eyes but he couldn’t see.
So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
9 For three days he was blind and neither ate nor drank anything.
10 In Damascus there was a certain disciple named Ananias.
The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
He answered, “Yes, Lord.”
11 The Lord instructed him, “Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is praying.
12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias enter and put his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 Ananias countered, “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man.
People say he has done horrible things to your holy people in Jerusalem.
14 He’s here with authority from the chief priests to arrest everyone who calls on your name.”
15 The Lord replied, “Go!
This man is the agent I have chosen to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.
16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17 Ananias went to the house.
He placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord sent me—Jesus, who appeared to you on the way as you were coming here.
He sent me so that you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 Instantly, flakes fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again.
He got up and was baptized.
19 After eating, he regained his strength.
He stayed with the disciples in Damascus for several days.
20 Right away, he began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues.
“He is God’s Son,” he declared.
Introduction- Conversion Stories
Have you ever listened to someone who has an awesome conversion story?
Usually these come at like a big conference or event where someone is sharing their faith.
They’ll talk about how bad they were before they met Jesus
I used to be a big time partier.
I used to do a lot of drugs.
I used to be a Baltimore Ravens fan.
And then they have some sort of dramatic experience with Jesus.
I was almost in a car crash and I saw my life pass before my eyes.
I got super sick and spent a lot of time in the hospital.
I climbed up a mountain and it was so beautiful and an orchestra was playing in the background.
That’s all wonderful and great.
But that’s not my story with Jesus, and I don’t think it’s many people’s story with Jesus.
In my story, I was baptized the day I was born since I had to have surgery.
I literally don’t have a day in my life where I can say I wasn’t claimed by Christ.
I can’t remember not being a part of a church.
I can’t remember not having Jesus in my life.
And I think that’s the majority of stories in the room, isn’t it?
And so today we have to be careful, because we’re going to study a pretty dramatic conversion story.
But there ought to be a few question on our minds as we look at this story:
What does this story have to say to us about the Holy Spirit?
What does this story have to say to us about the nature of repentance, of turning around?
And who exactly are the characters in this story?
Bible Breakdown- Three Characters
Saul
Confusing as this might be, this is Saul, who will eventually become Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament.
Name changes in the Bible usually happen when someone has an encounter with Jesus, and this is no different.
It’s not long after our story that Saul becomes Paul.
Religious Leader and Roman Citizen
In a lot of ways, Saul was straddling the line between two warring factions.
Paul was a Pharisee.
So in other words he was a Jew.
He was a highly respected Jew.
He was a leader in the religion.
And
Saul was also a Roman Citizen.
This means that he was on the in crowd
He had impressed the right people, and had his green card stamped.
It was said that a Roman citizen could wanter the world unafraid of being harmed with just the words “Civius Romanus” I am a Roman Citizen.
The idea was that if you messed with one Roman, you messed with all of them, including their superior military.
Some how, Saul is carrying a dual citizen’s card.
Spewing Out Murderous Threats
As a citizen of both, Saul is setting out to put a stop to something that is a threat to both.
The Way…wait hold up...
Did you know that the early church didn’t call themselves Christians?
A Christian is a kind of adjective, isn’t it?
Christian Music
Christian Movies
Christian Box Cutters (Yeah, I really saw that once)
But someone who follows the Way, that’s a verb.
You follow the Way when you walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
You follow the Way when you do what Jesus does.
You follow the Way when you are in tune with what Jesus asks of us.
I like that a little bit!
But anyway…the Way is a threat to both side’s of Saul’s identity.
The Way is a threat to the Romans
The Way is a threat to the Roman government because it dares to insist that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar.
The Way is a threat to the Roman government because it dares to insist that love is the strongest power, not the spear.
The Way is a threat to the Roman government because it dares to insist that everyone belongs, and that citizenship is for everyone.
And the Way is a threat to the Jewish authorities.
The Way is a threat to the Jewish authorities because it might suggest that their power is not absolute.
The Way is a threat to the Jewish authorities because it says mixing with the Roman politics of the day is a bad idea.
The Way is a threat to the Jewish authorities because it denies their rigid adherence to the law in favor of the Grace of God.
So Saul is out to kill everyone.
He’s getting arrest warrants to make sure that everyone falls in line.
Jesus literally stops him in his steps
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