Saul To Paul Series

The Saul who became Paul!

Scripture: Acts 7:54-58

54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Acts 8:1And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

Thesis: Saul was a religious fanatical terrorist to Christians – he was the assassin of any who preached and stood for Jesus – and he thought he was doing this for God. His conversion in Acts 9 shows what happen when people have a divine encounter with Jesus because Paul went from being a terrorist to a zealot for the Kingdom of God and Jesus.

Introduction:

One of the big ten commandments is to not use the Lord’s name in vain!

Bible reference - Exodus 20:7: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

Explanation: Has the world advanced so far that we do not need this commandment anymore? Has all profanity ceased? Have men–and women and children, too–ceased to take God’s name in vain? Have they at last learned to honor the holy name of our Savior?

How many millions violate this commandment every day! And how many do about the same thing with common slang! Let us remember what Jesus said to some careless talkers of His day.

It is recorded in Matthew 12:36, 37, “But I say to you that for every idle word man may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words, you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

What sinister sin and evil is done in the name of God! Breaking this commandment is not just about swearing and using God’s name it’s about doing stuff in the name of God that has nothing to do with God – like Saul was doing in his persecution of Christians!

Saul – The Paul – we need to get the back story on this man – so we need to see who he was see what the Bible says about him – He is introduced to us in Acts 7:58 at the first murder of a follower of Jesus’ “Stephen” – We need to see – something we have Never seen before in 2024 that’s our goal this year – Paul the apostle was once a terrorist – a partner in the murder of a Spirit filled man called Stephen – who according to Scripture in Acts 6-8 had the following spiritual traits:

• A man full of faith and the Holy Spirit

• A man full of God’s grace and power

• A man who did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people of Jerusalem.

• A man filled God’s wisdom and God’s spirit of insight.

• A man falsely accused of blasphemy against Moses and God.

• A man whose face shone like the face of an angel.

• A man whose speech connected Jesus to Moses – the prophets of the OT.

• A man who revealed to the religious leaders that God does not dwell in buildings or tabernacles anymore but in the hearts of His creations – people’s hearts. He is referencing Leviticus, Ezekiel and Acts 2!

• A man who boldly rebukes the religious leaders as being stiff necked with uncircumcised hearts and ears and as usual they resist the Holy Spirit.

• A man who spoke for God and said “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? (Acts 7:52)

• A man who called out the religious leaders for Killing the Righteous One – Jesus predicted by former prophets.

• A man whose God given words unleashed the demons in the religious leaders again like they did with Jesus, and it made them furious, and they gashed their teeth at him in rage and anger!

• A man who in this moment of facing down demonically possessed men of religion and sinister anger saw Heaven, the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father!

• A man who revealed the vision he was seeing in that heated moment vs 56 “I see Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

• A man after revealing his vision is attacked savagely by crazy terrorists bent on killing him and silencing his God given word and vision of Jesus.