"Ambush Makeover" - The Spiritual Kind

This great change we see in the Apostle Paul shows us just how powerful God the Holy Spirit can be. What you see here blows away any “extreme makeover” you might see on television. And what you see here is a picture of what God has done for you. He has changed you. The fact that you are sitting here this morning, and that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God - your personal Savior, and the Savior of all mankind – the fact that you believe that is a miracle. Because that’s not how you were born – it goes against everything that you naturally are, as a sinful human being.

But that’s how Christ works. He makes the first move, and comes to you. He shocks you. He fills you with his Spirit. And he turns you into a new person who loves and glorifies God, and who trusts in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Each one of us has gone through an extreme spiritual makeover, compliments of God the Holy Spirit working through his Word and Sacraments. Never forget to thank God for the way he has changed you, just as he changed the Apostle Paul

Do you have any people in your life who need an extreme spiritual makeover? Do you know anyone who is hostile to God, maybe like the Apostle Paul before his conversion? Do you know anyone who is very self-righteous, just like Paul before his conversion? Do you have anyone in your life that makes you shake your head, and think, “That person is a lost cause. That person will never, ever become a Christian.”

I’m sure that’s what people said about the Apostle Paul before his conversion too. If you have anyone in your life who is like that – a relative, a friend, a coworker – someone you know who is extremely lost, who is completely going in the wrong direction, who seems like the last person on earth to ever become a Christian, then remember what Christ did to the Apostle Paul. Christ can change anyone. Remember what God has done for you. Miracles can and do happen. Perhaps Jesus is planning to knock that relative of yours off his or her horse, just as he did to the Apostle Paul. If you have someone who is like that in your life, pray for that person. And after you are done praying for that person, get down on your knees and pray for that person again, and again and again. Live your faith in front of that person. Perhaps God will even give you an opportunity to share your faith. That person you are thinking of may be God’s next extreme makeover project. That person may be the next Apostle Paul.

You see, the church is made up of people who at one time were hostile, self-righteous, but now, have been converted, changed by the Holy Spirit. Thank God that he has changed you. Trust him, and pray to him, that he will change many more. Amen.