SAULS DRAMATIC CONVERSION Acts 9 1 30 SAULS

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Acts 9: 1 -30

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION • Today, we want to look at the greatest transformation story in the Bible • Perhaps this is the greatest transformation story in all Christian history

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION The transformation of Saul into the Apostle named Paul

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • Saul was born in the city of Tarsus, in the province of Cilicia, which is located near Antioch in Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey • He was the son of a very prominent and wealthy Jewish family • Because Cilicia was a Roman colony, Saul could claim Roman citizenship

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • Saul was a bright child, and was sent off to Jerusalem to study under the noted Rabbi Gamaliel • He was instructed in all the laws and traditions of the Jewish faith, and was zealous for it

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • So, Saul was born a Jew, grew up a Pharisee, held Roman citizenship, and lived and studied in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus • Like other religious leaders he probably expected that the enthusiasm and teachings that marked Jesus’ followers would soon die out with His death

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • But that did not happen • Instead not only did the believer’s enthusiasm grow, so did their numbers, and so Saul took action and persecuted them, putting them either in prison or to death • It was at the stoning death of Stephen that we are first introduced to Saul as he held the garments of those throwing the stones

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • Soon Saul found himself going from synagogue to synagogue punishing those who believed, until they began to leave Jerusalem, but this was not enough for him • He got letters from the chief priest and followed the believers wherever they went • And this is where our text today picks up the story as Saul was on the road to Damascus

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • Saul was full of hatred and bitterness • He was on a mission, but not for God, nor was it a mission for mercy, rather it was a mission of punishment and pain • He was on a mission to confront and get rid of all those who followed Jesus, those he described as belonging to “The Way”

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • Nothing on earth would or could change his mind, direction, or the challenge set before him • However, little did he know that while on this road to Damascus he would not confront the followers of Jesus, but rather Jesus would confront him

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Saul • Although he was not willing to change, he would be changed in ways greater than he could ever possibly imagine • He would not challenge the beliefs of Christians, but have his own belief and faith challenged

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Let’s look at the events in the context of three things: • Confrontation • Change • Challenge

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Confrontation • Traveling down the road to Damascus likely only intensified the situation in Saul’s mind • Damascus is about 150 miles northeast of Jerusalem, about a week’s journey on foot • Saul had plenty of time to set his mind and heart toward the confrontations that would take place

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Confrontation • Either these followers of Jesus would return to the Jewish faith, or they would be taken back as prisoners and convicted of the crime of blasphemy • A confrontation was inevitable • Instead of Saul being the confronter, he was the one confronted

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Confrontation • On the road from Damascus, a light from heaven confronted him • We know that this light that confronted Saul was nothing other than Jesus, because the voice that came from the light said, “Saul, why are you persecuting me? ”, and when Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord? ”, the voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ” (Acts 9: 4 -5)

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Confrontation • What voice did he hear? • He heard the Voice that spoke in the dark and created light • He heard the Voice that spoke to Adam and Eve • He heard the Voice that spoke to Moses from out of the burning bush • He heard the Voice that spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Confrontation • What voice did he hear? • He heard the Voice that spoke to the prophets, and • He heard the Voice that cried out from the Cross, “It is finished. ”

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Confrontation • All Saul could do was to bow his face to the ground and yield to the only true authority, the Lord Jesus Christ • Saul had reached the point where it was all about stopping to emphasize who he was, and start emphasizing who Jesus is • The same is true for us, and it will change everything

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • From physics, we learn of Newton’s law of motion, that everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it • Saul was not going to change unless Jesus confronted him, and once confronted, he changed

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • His name would change from Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle • Jesus whom he had hated was now the One that he adored and called Lord • He became a member of the very fellowship he had sworn to destroy • He changed from persecutor to being the one who would be persecuted

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • One of the most remarkable changes is that he became the most unpopular man on the face of the earth • The believers did not trust him, and • The Jews wanted to kill him

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • He was a different person • He was now a part of “The Way”, and regardless of the consequences, he went out and preached Jesus in the synagogues, increasing in faith and power • Saul was now Paul, the church’s first missionary starting churches wherever he went • And, he wrote nearly one third of the New Testament

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • How did this change take place? • It was by meeting Jesus, the True Living Word, and allowing His Word to come alive in his heart • We change in the same way by allowing Jesus Christ, the Living Word, to come alive in our hearts • Saul knew the Scriptures, top to bottom, but it did not change him because he never knew personally its Author

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • How did this change take place? • He was Jew, he knew the law, but he never allowed the law and the word to come alive within him • To Saul, it was merely a set of rules, a set of traditions to follow, but it was not something that was alive and breathing in his life

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • How did this change take place? • Saul met the Living Word, Jesus, and now the two (Scriptures and Author) became as one within him, and he was changed forever • There are people who say they believe in Jesus, but they rarely if ever open their Bibles

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • How did this change take place? • The Bible and the words written within are foreign to them and these people never stand out, there is no difference between them and the world, because they do not know God’s Word for their lives • We have had years of false and wrong information forced upon us through the educational system that denies the very existence of God

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Change • How did this change take place? • To counter this, we must allow God to change us from the inside out, which is what transformation change means • We need to replace the worldly wisdom with God’s wisdom, and we do that through the continual study of God’s Word

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Challenge • From that time forward Paul no longer challenged faith in Jesus, but instead allowed faith in Jesus to challenge his life • However, whenever we talk about the Damascus Road, Jesus and the Apostle Paul are our focus, but there was another disciple that is a lot like us, who stepped up to God’s Challenge to greater service

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Challenge • Ananias • God called Ananias • His response was, “Yes Lord, here I am. ” • The Lord proceeded to tell him that Saul of Tarsus was at a house on the Street called Straight, praying • God wanted Ananias to go to Saul, lay hands on him, and pray that he would receive his sight

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Challenge • Ananias • How many of us would answer like my paraphrase of Ananias’ • “God, are you sure of this? Saul just finished killing Stephen in Jerusalem and is putting believers in jail wherever he goes. And you want me to lay hands on him and pray. I lay hands on him and he is going to lay hands on me and not in a good way. ”

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Challenge • Ananias • But God set Ananias straight because Saul was a chosen vessel to bear His name to the Gentile world, and he would suffer because of it • Acts 9: 15 holds the key to the chapter, for it identifies not only the fact of God’s call, but its intended purpose

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Challenge • Ananias • One could argue that in one verse Luke has laid the foundation for everything he will tell us in the remaining chapters of the book • God Himself had changed the church’s strategy of evangelism, and that humble Christian by the name of Ananias knew it before Paul had the slightest inkling of what lay ahead in his life

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Challenge • Ananias was called and challenged by God to greater service, just as God calls you and me • God is indeed faithful and will equip us with everything that we need to accomplish the challenge He has set for us

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION • There are many today who may be walking down a road that leads away from Christ, a road leading to destruction • Jesus want to confront us with the light of His truth, and with the light of His presence • His desire is for all of us to quit kicking against the leadings of the Holy Spirit and come into the fullness of His light and presence

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION • Today as we conclude this presentation, is there something in your life that you would like to change? • God is in the life changing business • He will change you • Allow the light of Jesus to shine upon your life today, and allow God’s Word to come alive in your heart

SAUL’S DRAMATIC CONVERSION Will you allow the light of Jesus to shine in your life?