I concluded the sermon last week by saying, your bravery now unlocks potential for others later. Of course I was speaking about what you and I can do if we took the power God gave us and seized every opportunity in faiththat it would be an act of sheer bravery. We saw, of course, Stephen bravely proclaim the good news in light of his own bad news. I want to pick up the story where we left off last week. Lets go to Acts 8.
1And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:1-3)
Its not apparent yet, but Saul is going to be the protagonist of the Book of Acts. This protagonist has a past. He has a history of approving heinous acts of violence against Christ followers. I want to move to Acts 9 now.
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lords disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2)
Let me tell you something about Saul. He got a note, a permission slip to arrest people based on what they believed. He was responsible for some awesome persecution. Saul, who becomes Paul later in this story says in 1st Timothy 1:15, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. He admits to his protégé that he was a really bad man, in fact, he says he was the worst of all bad men. We just basically read in the last few verses that Saul was in fact a murderer. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: why in the world would God allow this man to be an ambassador for him and at the same time allow him to sink to the lowest position of murderer? I mean, can a murder really write 13 books in the Bible? I thought about this question this week because it boggles my mind.
I think about my life before I became Christian, and I have to say, I wasnt THAT bad. I didnt go off killing anybody. Sure, I made a lot of bad decisions, but nothing in the realm of murder and conspiracy to commit genocide. I know I shouldnt compare because there are some really sensitive people still around that would hate me for making this comparison, but Im going to do it anyways because it just proves that history repeats itself. What Saul did, the Nazis did to the Jews. What Saul did, the US did to the Native Americans. What Saul did, the Japanese did to the Koreans and Chinese. What Saul did, the Chinese are doing to believers in China. What Saul did, ISIS is doing to the Christians right now in Iraq. Why am I telling you this?
Its simple: No amount of oppression can stop God from doing what He wants to do. I want you to write that down in your notes. Its a little off topic, but I want you to remember that the next time you hit some serious adversity. Im not talking about adversity as in you have to pass your math test because you didnt study type of adversity. Im not talking about adversity in the form of your mom either. Im talking about life or death adversity, like if you dont persevere, you die. You may be powerless, you may be marginalized, but you can triumph because God allows those opportunities for you to capitalize on the power He gives you. More than that though, I want you to know that God saves alleven those who seem beyond salvation. Lets go to verse 3.
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 5 Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 9:3-9)
Write this down: Meeting Jesus personally changes your life trajectory. I want to ask you: have you met Jesus personally? Let me explain to you what that means in context to this passage. Have you ever found yourself at odds with God and God speaks to you like nobody has ever spoken to you? This story here is really dramatic and a lot of people meet God this way. I have a friend who grew up in church with me, but didnt actually meet God until he was serving a 10 year prison sentence for trying to kill somebody. He tells me that he was in the Bible reading and all of a sudden a voice that wasnt his own started speaking to Him about his life. This is what was happening with Saul. Jesus came down and asked Saul, why are you at odds with me? I brought you to this very point in your life, and instead of you using your power and the opportunities I gave you to be brave, you use it for something entirely different.
You see, Saul grew up in church. He says to the church in Philippa, If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. (Philippians 3:5-6) This guy not only grew up in church, he knew the Bible better than anybody else in church. He says he was so awesome that he made being bad look good. A lot of us grow up at church, but just like Saul, a lot of us do not meet Jesus personally and so our lives never change. I want your lives to changes. I want you to meet Jesus personally every single day so that your life changes every single day. Going to church doesnt matter if youre not meeting Jesus at church. I dont know about you, but I come to church so that I can meet Jesus personally so that I can have my life change. What we have to understand about Sauls story is that when we meet Jesus for the first time, it can be a little disorienting. What Im saying is that your life is not going to be the same. Saul was blind, the two guys going with Saul were confused. And always, when Jesus meets you personally, there is a job for you to do. Did you think that when you meet Jesus personally, thats where it ends? That you just say hi and you can walk away by saying, bye? Of course not. Write this down: A second chance is having a fresh perspective with renewed power. Lets go to verse 18.
18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Sauls eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, Isnt he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasnt he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests? 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
The backstory to this is that a guy named Ananias came and helped Saul out by using the power of God and the opportunity provided to him to give Saul a second chance. That, in turn, allowed Saul to have a fresh perspective. I dont have time to cover it in depth today, but maybe well do it later, but Ananias was bravehe was about to go and help a murderous person. There are people out there who waste their second chances. They meet Jesus in a fantastically miraculous way and they do nothing with the new chance and opportunity they are given. Some people take their second chance and do the same thing that led them to need a second chance in the first place. If you have fresh perspective because now you can see whats really going on around you and if you have real power because Jesus met with you personally and said I have a job for you, dont you think that you and/or I should jump on that second chance? Of course it does. Everybody deserves a second chance to recover from a bad decision or horrible mistake. Most people dont use it wisely and squander it away and its a horrible shame. Did you see what Saul did in verse 22? He began to preach and grow more powerful. Let me explain that verse to you for a minute because this is important. The Bible says more and more and that implies that when we have a second chance with fresh perspective and a renewed power from God, we grow with power the more we use the power we have from God. You may think you dont have a lot of power now, but when you get your second chance, and if weve ever met Jesus personally, that point starts our second chance, we are to use our power so that it can grow. Do you think God gives you and me faith so that we can do nothing with it? Do you think God gives you opportunities so that you can waste it? Do you think God wants you to be brave for no reason? Absolutely not. It is so that when we take the power that God gives, and use that in the opportunities that are presented to us, that we can be brave so we will increase in power. That is what makes us witnesses of Christ at the ends of the earth. People will be baffled and will point to God. This is what the book of Acts is all about. This is all we have to do. Lets go to verse 26.
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. (Acts 9:26-28)
Redemption requires a friend. Let me explain this to you. This is my last point. Redemption just really means second chance. A second chance cannot be begotten without a friend. Some of you will need to use your second chance, your redemption for the redemption of others around you. Lets pray.
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