Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Acts 9:1-31
Series: Acts: God’s vision and power for Shell Point Baptist.
Well-Known Sinner Meets Un-Known Saint
Introduction:
Some things just seem to GO TOGETHER naturally
• House FULL of family and plates FULL of good food.
• Popcorn and a good movie, coffee and conversation
• You know what I'm talking about.
We are used to COMPLIMENTARY things like this going together-
Sometimes it makes it hard for us to understand that many times in the Kingdom of God seemingly UNCOMPLIMENTARY things-even opposite things-go together.
Remember? Jesus taught that,
• "The FIRST shall be LAST."
• "We GET by GIVING"
• "We begin to really LIVE when we learn to DIE to self.”
I call this "the principle of oxymoronic truth" because OXYMORONS are seeming opposites that complement each other-
When this happens in the Kingdom of God, powerful TRUTH is revealed.
There are at least two examples of this principle to be found in today's text, Acts 9:1-31. Let’s look at the first of two oxymoronic truths in this text.
Sermon
1. Our HOLY God can use a well-known SINNER like Paul.
The last person we would think our Holy God using would be an infamous SINNER like Saul-but of course He did.
The AMAZING grace of God
• Saul-or Paul Became the greatest missionary ever-his life was powerfully used by God!
• "HOLY GOD" and "KNOWN SINNER"-two phrases just don't seem to go together do they?
• Plus-Saul wasn't just your typical, every day sinner.
• He did horrible things before he became a Christian.
• Paul himself admitted that, he was the "the worst of sinners." (1 Timothy 1:16).
Historians agree with his self-assessment because in his early days he set himself up as the ARCH-ENEMY of the early church.
• Think of him as Superman's LEX LUTHOR
• Sherlock Holmes' DR MORIARTY rolled into one
• Originally his sole purpose in life was to destroy the church.
Do you remember what the members of the synagogue in Damascus said about him? Look back at verse 21. Referring to Saul they said: "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this Name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"
Saul made it his goal to find, arrest, and even execute all Christians.
• Persecuting followers of The Way consumed him.
• Now, why was Saul like this?
• How did he end up the most well-known religious terrorist of his day?
Well, to answer this question we need to look back at Saul's upbringing.
A. grew up in Tarsus-a city that was located on the main trade route between the Orient and Rome.
B. Saul's father was a tent-maker/lived in a city where caravans were constantly coming and going
This brought them great wealth.
Used this vast wealth to give son/best education possible
John Pollock, author of The Apostle: A Life of Paul, describes Saul's early life like this:
• "Paul's parents were Pharisees, members of the party most fervent in Jewish nationalism and strict in obedience to the Law of Moses.
• They sought to guard their offspring against contamination.
• Friendships with Gentile children were discouraged.
• Greek ideas were despised.
Though Paul could speak Greek from infancy, and though he had a working knowledge of Latin, at home his family spoke Aramaic, the language of Judea, a derivative of Hebrew.
They looked to Jerusalem as Islam looks to Mecca.
By his 13th birthday, Paul mastered Jewish history, the poetry of the Psalms, and the majestic literature of the prophets...
• For 5 years he was taught by Gamaliel.
• He became skilled rabbi preacher
• Part lawyer/prosecuted those broke sacred law.
So understand-due to his strict Jewish upbringing and Gamaliel's rigorous instruction Saul had become a very PROUD man-especially when it came to his Jewish heritage.
He knew the Jewish Scriptures like the back of his hand
• including all the prophesies about the coming Messiah
• But like his proud Jewish peers, Saul misinterpreted them.
The mere suggestion that a Galilean peasant, Who had wound up being crucified by the Romans would be God's Anointed, seemed to Saul to be an absolute insult to Judaism.
• Saul thought he was doing a good thing.
• He thought he was persecuting the church in the name of God.
• He knew the Scriptures but his flawed interpretation justified his actions.
Now make sure you understand the problem here.
Saul had head knowledge. His parents had taken special care to insure He had RELIGION but he didn't have a RELATIONSHIP with God.
All he had was an inherited, ethnic faith.
Parents, pay special attention here.
• Teach our children the doctrines of Christianity
• Understand the morals and ethics that go with our faith.
• FAR MORE important that we introduce our children to the person of Jesus Christ.
If our kids grow up believing that Christianity just means going to church every Sunday, learning all of the right songs, praying the right prayers and even standing for the right things, then we are failing as parents.
Well, Paul MET Jesus and became a believer himself. While en route to Damascus to arrest the Christians who lived here
• God arrested him!
• A bright light shown from heaven-so bright that it knocked Saul to his feet. Christ Himself appeared to him.
• Saul actually SAW Jesus in all His glorious brilliance
Ironically the last person to have seen the resurrected glorified Christ was Stephen and now, the man who held the coats of those who stoned him was the next to see Jesus. Who would have thought!
Well the amazing sight of our resurrected Lord was the last thing Saul's eyes beheld for three days because when Jesus left, Saul realized that he had taken his sight.
For the first time in his proud, self-sustained life, Saul found himself a desperate dependent.
• He had to actually be led into Damascus by the hand,
• He realized that this Jesus of Nazareth was in fact the Messiah, the Son of God.
• It dawned on this Jew of Jews that he had been fighting God Himself.
• He had been opposing the very One he was supposed to be serving.
• He must have shaken his head for days thinking, "What have I done...what have I done...how could I have gotten it so wrong?"
To discover that he had been contending against God instead of serving God must have been a terrible humiliation.
I am sure he was filled with terror thinking, "What is God going to do to me after what I have done?!"
Well, we all know the answer to that question.
Saul repented of his sin and our Holy God forgave him and then took the life of this WELL-KNOWN sinner and used it in a powerful way.
No one can look at the life of Saul-that infamous sinner whom God turned into PAUL, a now-famous saint-and say otherwise.
This is probably the most powerful conversion of all time.
• It appears in the book of Acts THREE times!
• Paul, who was the OPPONENT of Christianity, became the PROPONENT of Christianity.
• He who HATED Christ now HERALDED Christ.
God took Saul's strength's
• his educated mind
• understanding of the Scriptures
• Used them to convince other Jews that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
God also took Saul's undesirable qualities and replaced them with desirable ones.
• He replaced Saul’s' cruel hatred with love,
• his rough-hardnosed treatment of people with gentleness,
• His pride with humility.
And all this re-shaping made him PAUL
PAUL, who immediately began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues in Damascus and all over the world.
Now how has God reshaped you? How has your mold changed?
If God can use a sinner like Saul-then He can use a sinner like me and you.
• The Holy Spirit will convict us to change
• Some sin we just do knowingly – it is rebellious sin - it is a strong-hold in our lives
• Some sin we do out of ignorance – but it is still sin
• For change to happen, we must get a revelation
• In rebellious sin, we need a revelation of how dangerous & destructive our sin is
• In ignorant sin, we need a revelation that we are grieving the Lord in our actions
The files of heaven are filled with stories of redeemed and refitted renegades and rebels.
In the Kingdom of God oxymoronic truths can teach us a great deal.
I want to point out two other lessons we can learn from the fact that our Holy God can and still does use sinners.
A. First, when we stray from God, as Saul did, our loving Heavenly Father often uses PAIN to get our attention.
I mean, our Lord blinded Saul-so that he could "see."
• He caused him to endure the discomfort and fear of being sightless,
• As his Creator, He knew that this was the only way to make Paul understand.
• God uses the same tactic on you and me.
Many times for God to be able to use us, He must first break us as he did Saul.
* He broke him and then He restored him.
* In the process Saul met and got to know His Master/Redeemer.
* He followed Him faithfully for the rest of his life
* In so doing he has inspired countless others to do the same.
Well, let me ask you. Are you going through a painful time?
If so, could God be allowing this pain so that you will turn from dependency on self, to dependency on Him?
Could He be teaching you to listen to and heed His still, small, voice?
• the world will challenge you
• the devil will challenge you
• you must be relentless
• A fierce perseverance, uncompromising spirit
He increased because he persevered
• What is really increased? – Godly Character
• Paul’s strength was the godly character being built up in his life
• Rom 5:3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
• Relentlessness is the propagation of true change
• It turns worldly character into godly character
This leads to another bit of oxymoronic truth that we can see here...
B. ...God SEEKS us even when we run from Him.
1. God ALWAYS yearns to be in relationship with us no matter how much we sin against Him.
No matter how far we run from Him. He pursues us.
That old saying is so true, "No matter HOW FAR you've run from God, it's always only ONE STEP back to Him."
Experience on the Damascus road was not a sudden CONVERSION as much as it was a sudden SURRENDER.
* You see God had been pursuing a relationship with Saul all his life but Saul had resisted Him.
* This is what Saul was referring to later in Acts when he shared his testimony with Agrippa, and said that for years he had been "kicking against the goads" of God.
Now a GOAD was basically a long, stick, that was blunt on one end and pointed on the other.
• Farmers used the pointed end to urge a stubborn ox into motion.
• Occasionally, the beast would kick at the goad. But the more he kicked, the more likely it would be to stab into the flesh of its leg causing greater pain. Saul realized that God had been seeking him for years, using various "goads" to prod him to turn from his sin:
• There times when the Lord has to take drastic steps to get your attention have you noticed?
• a new choice, a decision,
• drawing our line in the sand
• We must choose the will of God
What were a few of the goad’s for Paul?
1. First, there was the goad of JESUS' life and words.
Saul had heard Jesus teach and preach in public places. After all, they were about the same age.
This zealous young Pharisee would have been one of the first to go investigate this popular Teacher and Healer from Galilee.
I think the words and works of Jesus haunted Saul.
Haven’ t they you in the past?
He knew in his heart that they were true
but he fought that by thinking this must be of Satan!
2. Second, we see the goad of Stephen's peaceful DEATH. As I told you weeks ago, Saul never forgot Stephen.
Wasn’t the fact that Stephen died as much as it was the WAY he died.
No screaming; no pitiful pleas for mercy; no cursing; no recanting his faith.
Instead Stephen prayed for his executioners just as Jesus had done.
Well, I imagine Saul wondered, how could a bad man die like that? It didn't make sense!
3. And then third, we see the goad of other Christians' courageous FAITH.
Surely Saul could not have escaped noticing the courage of his prisoners.
The believers he viciously apprehended bravely endured the torture.
They stood in firm allegiance to their Master, Jesus and their undaunted courage in the face of certain death must have made Saul question his actions.
So God sought Saul
• He goaded and prodded the stubborn pride of that Ox/Pharisee.
• Day after day Saul kicked against these goads, until finally on that Damascus road he got the message and surrendered his life to our Lord.
Well, let me ask you? Are you walking in relationship with God?
If not, then He is seeking you-He's calling you-perhaps even goading you-to repent of your sin and turn to Him.
And Christian, ask yourself. "Am I kicking against the goads?
Am I resisting God?"
• In my prayer time, study time, worship time?
• Well, Paul would say to Christian and non-Christian alike, "Stop running. Stop resisting. Stop kicking against the 'goads' of God."
So, our Holy God can indeed forgive and cleanse and use horrible, well-known sinners like Paul to further his kingdom.
But there's another example of oxymoronic truth in this text.
You see Saul's conversion shows us that not only can God use a KNOWN SINNER...
2. He also can use an UN-KNOWN saint...
A. In Damascus there was an unknown disciple/Ananias/Jesus gave him the assignment of going to visit Saul to lead him to faith.
o I don't know about you-but this doesn't make sense to me.
o I would have thought Jesus would have called for one of the "big guns"
o God picked a relatively unknown man.
o In fact, this is the only time we read anything about this Ananias in the Bible.
And-I want you to understand how difficult this assignment would be for this unknown saint.
• Ananias had not heard of Saul's Damascus road experience.
• All he knew was that Saul, the Persecutor, was on the way to arrest Christians like himself.
• So, it would be like asking a Jew living in Austria in the 1940's to pay a personal visit to Adolph Hitler.
Well, Ananias obediently went/power of the Spirit of God
• led Saul out of the darkness-both physical and spiritual,
• Guided him to faith in Jesus, and baptized him.
This shows we don't have to be known/used in powerful way.
Ananias been called one/forgotten heroes/faith/but he's not alone.
There are countless numbers of them serving Christ behind the scenes all over the world.
• They are content to remain in the shadows,
• Oblivious to the lure of lights and applause.
• The great majority of Christians are "Ananias’s"-serving God in powerful ways-doing essential ministry.
These unknowns are vital because they keep the Church-the Body of Christ-functioning and in good health.
We'd be sunk if it weren't for all they do-behind the scenes, unnoticed.
Only when eternity dawns will we know, the enormity of their investment in the cause of Christ.
Think of it. Saul would never have become Paul without Ananias.
• He would have remained blind and trembling had the disciple of Damascus refused to obey
• All this was set into motion because God used the memorable faith of a little-known but faithful hero.
• His obedience changed the destiny of millions.
Our church provides a portrait of Christ for our community.
• As each of us work at the tasks God gives us,
• We furnish an essential part of that portrait.
• Some work at colorful jobs that are clearly visible by all-the preacher and staff...the soloists and teachers.
• but others (the vast majority) work behind the scenes doing things that often go unnoticed:
like washing dishes after our feasting events, or preparing the elements for communion, or praying for the needs of the body, or folding or washing Baptistery linens.
The list goes on and on but because all these "invisible," unknown members do these things, our community sees a clearer picture of Jesus.
As your pastor, I am so very thankful to these unknown saints.
In fact I think of these precious people as the "sparkle” in our Lord's eye.
And if you're one of them-if you're an "invisible saint" then I hope you know how precious...how indispensable you are to us.
Remember, as Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 12:22, "...the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary."
LET US PRAY
Father God, I ask that You would speak to each of us now. Take the scales from our eyes-as you did Saul's so we can see Your truth.
Use Your Holy Spirit to guide us such that we understand all the things we've studied in Your Word this morning.
I especially ask that You would speak to those present who aren't Christians.
Remind them that until they've surrendered their life to Christ, they are as lost as Saul was on the Damascus road.
Remind us all of Your great grace Father-that GRACE that IS greater than ALL our sin-convict us of our need to truly repent of our sin so that You can use our lives and Father as we serve help us to live for one thing only-pleasing You.
I ask all this in JESUS' name. AMEN
If God has opened your eyes to a decision you need to make, we invite you to make it public now as we stand and sing.
Won't you come now as God leads
