Kicking Against the Goads
Acts Series
Chuck Sligh
July 26, 2015
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chuckcsligh@gmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
TEXT: Turn to Acts 9:1-9
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – Steven Kettlett tells about a lady who went to the spend some time with her uncle who owned a sheep ranch in the Rocky Mountains in America. One day she walked into a barn and saw a young lamb with its leg in a splint.
“Awww, what happened?” she wanted to know.
“Oh,” said the old shepherd, “he had a bad habit of running off, so I broke his leg.”
That sounds awful, but hold your judgment until the end of the sermon.
Have you ever wanted to break someone’s leg? Well, our text tells us of a man whom many Christians might have been tempted to pray that someone would break his leg—maybe even both of them! His name was Saul, a man who was a menace to the early church. He was the young man, you’ll recall, who watched over the coats of the men who stoned Stephen in Acts 7. In Acts 8:3, we read, “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.”
Then, as we open chapter 9, we’re met with these words, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 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.” (Acts 9:1-2)
Saul was a man with a mission—to destroy Christianity and every one of its followers. That was his intent when he got arrest warrants and began his trip to Damascus. Little did he know, however, that his entire life was about to make a dramatic U-turn!
Look at what happened in verses 3-9, “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”
We don’t know how far out of Jerusalem Saul and his entourage had traveled, but we do know that all of a sudden brilliant, blinding light flashed all around Saul. Falling to the ground, a voice said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
The voice was the voice of Jesus, but notice something very peculiar that Jesus said. In verse 5 He said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks [which most versions translate as ‘goads’].”
Well, you must be asking, what in the world is a “goad”? Today, we call them “prods” and we use electricity. But before the modern electric cattle and sheep prod, they used a “goad” for the same purpose—which was a long, sharp, pointed stick used to guide livestock.
So, what was wrong with Saul’s life that Jesus would say he was “kicking against the goads”? Let’s consider that for the remainder of your message:
I. FIRST, SAUL HAD A RELIGION—BUT HE DIDN’T HAVE A RELATIONSHIP.
Saul was a Jew. In fact, he was a teacher of Judaism. Years after his conversion, in the letter of Philippians, he described his religious credentials this way: “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Philippians 3:5-6)
As far as his religion was concerned, Saul had dotted all the right “i’s” and crossed all the right “t’s”. The problem was that Saul’s religion was an inherited religion, not a personal relationship—one he had learned from His Pharisee father; and from sitting at the seat of the great Gamaliel, the most influential Jewish teacher of his day. Saul knew all of the laws and ordinances of Judaism; He was an expert. But there was one problem: Saul knew Judaism, but he didn’t know GOD.
That’s the peril of an inherited religion. It’s very possible to be religious but lost, and not have eternal life. It’s very possible to grow up in a certain church or denomination or religious group and never to have truly met Jesus Christ in a personal way. Growing up in a Christian home doesn’t make you a Christian any more than growing up in a garage makes you a car. If you don’t get anything else out of this sermon today, get this: God is not found in a RELIGION; He’s found in a RELATIONSHIP!
Saul had plenty of religion, but he missed having a wonderful relationship with God. That’s one reason Jesus said Saul was “kicking against the goads.”
II. SECOND, SAUL WAS DOING GOD’S BUSINESS—BUT NOT GOD’S WILL.
Because Saul didn’t know God, he was doing what he THOUGHT he should do for God, but it was the OPPOSITE of what God really wanted. He thought that because these Christians were such a threat to his beloved religion, he should destroy them. Is there anything more contradictory than killing in the name of a God of love?!! Down through the years, I’ve met many people doing what they thought was God’s BUSINESS, but it was not God’s WILL.
I’ve seen many sincere people try to get to heaven by their good works. Yet Ephesians 2:8-9 is very clear: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
I could give you dozens of scriptures that say the same thing. Yet many people blindly trust in their good works to get God’s acceptance. They’re doing God’s BUSINESS, but they’re not doing God’s WILL.
Many people trust in obeying the Ten Commandments to earn their way to God. The Ten Commandments are part of what is known as “the Law” in the Bible, and the Bible has a lot to say about those who try to be saved through the Law. For instance, Romans 3:20a says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight…”
The New Testament is peppered with verses like these, yet many think that as long as they obey God’s commands, they’ll be fine on the Judgment Day. They’re doing God’s BUSINESS, but they’re not doing God’s WILL.
Imagine what a shock this must have been for Saul to find out that all his sincere efforts were for naught—that everything he’d stood for and believed was WRONG! Sadly, there are going to be a lot people like that on the Judgment Day.
In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Doing God’s BUSINESS, but not God’s WILL. Jesus said “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
What is the will of the Father?—In John 6:40, Jesus said this: “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life…”
You’d better not be doing God’s business according to YOUR way of thinking, or what a church taught you or according to some man’s teaching—whoever it is. Obey the will of the Father, which is to believe on Christ and be saved today!
III. FINALLY, NOTICE THIS—PAUL HAD EYES, BUT HE COULD NOT SEE.
Look again at verses 8-9 – “And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”
In his desire to do God’s business, Saul had been SPIRITUALLY blinded. He was blinded by his misguided zeal; his prejudices; and his heritage. But on the road to Damascus—Saul was blinded by the light of Jesus he could now see with his spiritual eyes.
God had to do something dramatic to get his attention. God is like that sometimes. If necessary, for our own good, He’ll do something quite startling to give us a wake-up call and change the direction of our lives.
In an article about Asian men who train eagles for hunting, Stephen Kinzer writes:
The capture, taming, training, and keeping of eagles is highly ritualized. Most of the birds, which have a life span of about 40 years, are caught when very young—either snatched from a nest or trapped in a baited net. Once captured, the eagle is hooded and placed in a cage with a perch that sways constantly, so it cannot rest or sleep. For two or three days it is also deprived of food. During this time, the berkutchi, as an eagle hunter is called, talks, sings and chants to it for hours on end. Finally he begins to feed and stroke it. Slowly the weakened creature comes to rely on its master. When the berkutchi decides that their relationship has become strong enough, the training begins…Not all eagles can be trained, but those who take to life with a master display intense loyalty.
Sometimes—oftentimes, in fact—God works the same way. He knocks us down, so to speak—so that He can pick us up again. Often, we see being knocked down as harsh, brutal and unloving. In reality, if we could step back and look at it from God’s perspective—we’d see that, like God did with Saul, what God is really doing is using events in our lives to drive us to our knees and help us discover a loving, caring, and forgiving God.
When Saul was knocked down by God, he did something that shows us that he had stopped “kicking against the goads.” He asked two of the most important questions you could ask God.
1) The first one is found in verse 5, “And he said, Who art thou, Lord?”
This is a PERSONAL question: “Lord, who are you?” Saul recognized it was God speaking to him, for He calls Him “Lord.” But this was not the God he thought he knew! After all of his years of training under his father and then under the great priest, Gamaliel—Saul suddenly realized that he didn’t know God at all.
I wonder if you’re here today and you’ve been a good person who does good deeds, takes care of your family, gives to charity or you’re religious; but when you examine your heart, you know that you do not really KNOW God.
On the road to Damascus, Saul met a God he didn’t even recognize, so he asked “Who are you, Lord?” And Jesus answered, “I am Jesus…” Now we need to understand the significance of this answer. Saul understood immediately. He’d been persecuting this Jesus for quite some time. He’d urged others to stone Stephen while he held their coats. He’d heard Stephen’s testimony of who this Jesus was. Time and again, as he arrested and persecuted Christians, they witnessed to him about Jesus.
Now on the road to Damascus, Saul realized that everything he had heard—but had rejected—about Jesus WAS TRUE. Jesus WAS the Son of God who DID die on the cross for his sins and DID rise from the dead, for here He was talking to him! And He realized that without Jesus Christ as his Savior, he had no hope of eternal life—for it was Jesus Himself who had said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)
Saul didn’t have all of his theology right at this point, but he knew that what he needed but did not have was a relationship with Jesus.
Turn with me to Philippians 3 where Paul, the name he was later given, says something very interesting about his conversion: A moment ago I read where Paul said he had been dotted all the religious “i’s” and crossed all the religious “t’s” in Philippians 3:5-6. Then Paul goes on to say these amazing words in verses 7-8: “But what things were gain to me [his religious heritage, his religious affiliation, his good works—all those things he had just mentioned], those I counted LOSS for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
What did he mean? He meant that he gave up all his religious works to be saved and considered them as total LOSS—that is, of absolutely no value—as far as getting him to heaven or making him right with God. In fact, he says they were “dung” to him, which means “manure.” He gave up religion and denomination and religious heritage for WHAT?—verse 8: “The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.” He wanted to KNOW Christ.
He continues in verse 10: That I may know HIM, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings…” Paul said he gave up a CREED to know CHRIST. He gave up RELIGION for a RELATIONSHIP. He wanted to KNOW Christ—and that made ALL the difference!
Do you KNOW Christ—PERSONALLY? Give up religion and good works to get to God—and embrace JESUS! Embrace a PERSON—not a religion or a code of ethics.
2) The second question Saul asked is found in verse 6: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
The first question on every new believer’s mind is always the same: “Lord, now that you’ve saved me, what do You want me to do?” Instinctively people who truly TRUST in Christ want to SERVE Him. Saul’s question, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” was an expression of full surrender to God. It showed he wanted to do the will of His new-found Savior.
Great blessings would flow from the surrender of this man’s life. We know Saul by the name he was later given—PAUL. He would later make three missionary journeys, start an untold number of churches, lead thousands to Christ, write half the books in the New Testament, and eventually die a martyr’s death for the Person he discovered way back on that dirt Road to Damascus.
CONCLUSION
So that’s the story of the conversion of the great apostle Paul. Let me close by asking you two questions to drive today’s message home to our hearts.
First, are you “kicking against the goads” while God is trying to reach out to you? Has God been working in your heart, making you see you need a relationship with Jesus? Is He wooing you to Him, while you’re “kicking against the goads”? Dear friend, don’t do that.
Illus. – I began this message by telling you about a lady at her uncle’s sheep ranch who saw a little lamb with its leg in a splint. “Ohhh, what happened?” she asked compassionately. Remember the response of her uncle?—“He had a bad habit of running off, so yesterday I broke his leg.” Almost in tears, she asked, “Why on earth would you do that?” Listen to his reply:
Well, the little guy had a bad habit of running off. Every time he did that, he was in mortal danger. He could fall off the edge of a cliff and kill himself, or a coyote, a wolf, or a mountain lion could find him, kill him and eat him. He was a stubborn little guy, too. Every time he ran off, I would have to go find him. Then, I would set him with the rest of the flock, only to have him run off again. So, I broke his leg.
But, that’s not the end of it. After I broke his leg, I also mended it. I put a splint on it. All the while, I was talking to him, comforting him, consoling him. Now, I have to carry water in to him every day. Not only that, I have to feed him by hand. As I do, I continue to talk to him and comfort him. By the time his leg heals, he will know my voice. He will know that it is I who takes care of him. He will come when I call him. He will stay with me, no matter what. Now, I will be able to lead him, and the rest of the sheep will follow him. This lamb will one day be the best sheep of the flock. Why? Because yesterday, I broke his leg. In order to break its will, I had to break its leg.
I hope God doesn’t have to get your attention in such a dramatic way If He does, it will only be out of the best intentions of love and concern. Why don’t you surrender to the Lord right today and be saved? You can have a personal relationship with the living God!
One more question, this time for the saved: Are you doing what God would have you to do? What would the Lord have you to do? He would have you to be BAPTIZED. He would have you to confess and forsake any known sin in your life. He would have you obey His Word—to read your Bible, pray, witness to others, be holy, be loving, be merciful, be gracious. Ask yourself, “Lord, what would you have me to do?”—And then DO IT!
