The Scripture is read before my sermon.
Today’s Scripture
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.” (Acts 9:1–19)
In the early part of Acts, we are introduced to five people that need your attention. Think of these 5 men as the Mount Rushmore of the early chapters of Acts, if you will. Today, we arrive at Paul. On the Sunday we recognize seniors and their accomplishments, we witness the story of a young man who had his life and career figured all out until God showed up.
Our story today is the probably the world’s most famous conversion story. Thrown to the ground by a light, the voice of God stopped him. Conversion is a dramatic before and after picture. And there is no more dramatic conversion story anywhere than Paul’s. Paul’s conversion was History Changing like if the front page of every newspaper of 1944 read “Hitler Converts to Judaism.”
While he’s called Saul in today’s text, I’ll switch back and forth from calling him Saul and Paul.
Let me share with you two quick points of observations before we move to four takeaways.
1. An Unlikely Man
Maybe the best way to introduce you to the “before” picture of Saul is to see what others said about him. Eavesdrop in on his prayer/conversation as you’ll learn a lot about Saul: “But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” (Acts 9:13-14)
Those are the words of a man who would reluctantly obey & is wondering, “God, do you know what you’re doing?” Saul had approved of Stephen’s stoning & had even held the outer garments for those who stoned Stephen. In fact, our story happens when Paul is getting letters of approval from the High Priest to round up Christians for imprisonment. You can understand Ananias’ caution about Paul. Saul has hatred for Christians.
“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” (Acts 26:9–11)
Had you take a survey of people in & around Jerusalem of the ONE person who was the least likely to convert to Christianity, near the top of the list would have been Saul. Yes, Ananias knew what Saul had done to the church, but what he didn’t know was what Jesus had done to Saul. It’s important for all of us to see that God didn’t give a “pass” to Paul simply because he was religious. We should remember that Jesus told another religious man: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
1. An Unlikely Man
2. An Improbable God
If you were to interview Paul later on that day & you were to ask him, “What surprised you most by today’s events as you approached the city?” I don’t think Paul was nearly as shocked by the light, the voice, or even the blindness. Yes, it was a bright light that even outshone the noonday sun. Yes, hearing a voice from heaven would have made your knees shake. Bu the one thing Saul never considered was Jesus was still alive. Up until this moment, Saul thought Jesus was dead. The resurrection was the game-changer.
Like a police detective taking his suspect into an interrogation room, Paul hears, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me” (Acts 9:4b)? As soon as this heavenly light confronts Paul, he asks, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5). While Paul’s companions so no one, Paul knew Who he had seen. The minute Paul understood he was raised from the dead, he lost control of his life. Again, the resurrection was the game-changer.
Like a solider switching sides in the midst of the battle, Paul switches His view of God. Paul, the Immovable Object, meets the Irresistible Force, the risen Jesus. All of us must have our encounter with Jesus. All of us must walk down the street called Straight. Conversion isn’t just for bad people or religious people; it’s for all people.
Four Takeaways from Paul’s Story
1. The Hound of Heaven
He is on a 150-mile journey north (about a week’s travel) from Jerusalem to Damascus with one focus and one goal - to snuff out the light of the Christian faith. The hunter has become the hunted. Saul’s story teaches us to never write anyone off. If Saul came to Christ, then God is able to chase down anyone. God can reach anyone, including you.
Talk to any believer here & they’ll you the same thing about their story of conversion, God chases them down. God is coming after you. Someone says here, “I’m trying to find God.” That’s a lot like picturing a mouse searching for a cat. Mice don’t search for cats. Cats find mice. If you’re looking for God & you find him, it’s probably not God. It’s probably god with little g not the big G. You’ve probably found a god you created. The real God chases you with His grace.
Warning: Not every conversion will look the same. There’s danger when the genuineness of your conversion is judged solely on the personal experience of someone else. There’s great danger when you question your conversion because it doesn’t meet the style of someone else’s. Some of us see all this and say to ourselves, “I’ve never had anything close to this.” Even inside the Bible, actual conversion accounts are so diverse. There are so many different experiences. Some conversions are very sudden. Yes, some people’s conversions are dramatic while others are quiet.
Lydia, a lady whose story is in Acts 16, is converted through a Bible study. No miracles, no visions, no heavenly lights, just a Bible study. There’s danger where one style of conversion becomes the standard for everybody else. God is present on every college campus even where they ban Him. He will chase you down in every back ally & bar.
1. The Hound of Heaven
2. You Can Best See the Light in the Dark
Saul’s blindness called for him to truly see. It’s probably the first time in Saul’s life that he is aware he cannot see. His story says he didn’t even eat. No eating, no reading, he’s in total darkness. For three days he didn’t eat anything & didn’t see anything. God is saying, “Sit in undistracted darkness & think about what it means that Jesus is alive.” It’s when he sat in darkness that he begins to understand a weak, suffering Savior saved him. Perhaps he replayed much of Stephen’s speech recorded in Acts 7. Sitting in the darkness, the lights came on all of sudden for Paul. It was only when Paul was completely undone, that he understood, “I have to change. I cannot keep the law up over my life. I cannot earn my salvation.”
1. The Hound of Heaven
2. You Can Best See the Light in the Dark
3. A Remarkable Connection between Jesus & His People
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:5)
When you persecute His followers, you persecute Jesus Himself. Though Paul is only days into his Christian journey, he’ll will mark carefully the words of Jesus here. Though, he doesn’t fully understand it yet, he will learn just how tight the connection is between Jesus and His people. Over in Romans 6, Paul would later say something to this effect, “You know when Jesus Christ died? You died with him. We died with Christ. We were buried with Christ.” And then in Ephesians 2:6, there’s something even more astounding. He says, “You know when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and He was seated at the right hand of God? We were raised with him. We were seated with him.” Not present tense. Not future tense. Not, “Someday we will be raised with him, and someday we will …” He says, “We have been raised. We have been seated in the heavenly places.” When and if you believe in him, God treats you as if you had accomplished everything Jesus had accomplished. He loves you as if you were as good & beautiful as Jesus. He rewards you as if you were as great as Jesus. Jesus says, “When My followers suffer, I suffer. Hurt them & you hurt Me.”
1. The Hound of Heaven
2. You Can Best See the Light in the Dark
3. A Remarkable Connection between Jesus & His People
4. God Hears Prayer
Prayers are noticed in heaven. And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying” (Acts 9:11)
God doesn’t pay as close attention to the pomp of a king’s arrival as He does to your prayers. God knew the street where He was staying: “Rise and go to the street called Straight…” God knew the house where He was living: “at the house of Judas…” God knew his name and God knew where he was from: “look for a man of Tarsus named Saul…” But all of this never calls for God to say, “behold,” which means look & listen carefully to what’s next.
For last of all, God knew Saul was praying: “for behold, he is praying.” God hears the prayers of His people. Just one of your genuine prayers is louder than a college football marching band in the ears of God. It is a great & glorious thing that prayer is heard in heaven. The smallest prayer of a broken-hearted believer is one of the sweetest sounds in heaven. Let everyone in the room clap their hands together in joy that God hears your prayers!
