When God Calls Your Name… Twice: Saul/Paul
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 9/4/2016
After church one Sunday, a pastor stood at the front of the church greeting people as they left. A sweet, little, elderly woman stopped and said: “Pastor, please speak louder. I can’t hear you when you preach.” The pastor replied modestly, “Oh, you’re not missing that much.” The woman responded, “Well, that’s what everybody tells me, but I want to hear it anyway.”
This morning, I am hoping you will hear God communicate something special to you regardless of the quality of my sermons preparations. For the last several of weeks, we’ve been talking about how you might respond if God called your name—not just once, but twice. As I mentioned before, God calls plenty of people in the Bible often by name, but I’ve only found seven times where God calls out someone’s name twice in a row—Abraham, Abraham! Jacob, Jacob! Moses, Moses!
Each time that God calls someone by name twice, he follows it with something profound and potentially life-changing. He called Samuel to demonstrate just how important it is to listen to God’s voice. He called Martha to remind her to slow down and spend time at the feet of Jesus. He called Simon Peter to warn him about the snares of Satan, and encourage him to get back up after he falls.
The last person that Jesus calls by name twice is Saul who eventually becomes Paul. The story of Paul’s encounter with Christ is so compelling that it’s actually told three times in the book of Acts—first, as it happens in Act 9, then Paul himself retells the story two more times in Acts 22 and Acts 26.
I know this is another familiar tale but just to make sure we remember the setting I would remind you that this takes place in the early days of the church. Saul was a Pharisee from a very important Jewish family. He once referred to himself as a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). In other words, when it came to religion—he was as religious as you could get. In fact, Saul was zealous about his religion—so zealous that he couldn’t stand the idea of anyone leaving Judaism to become a Christian! So as Christianity began to spread throughout the Jewish community, Saul became enraged. He made it his personal goal in life to put an end to Christianity.
In the name of God, he went after these heretics—these threats to his faith—and either arrested them or killed them. For months, the man born as Saul was the greatest threat to early Christianity. Bank-rolled by Jerusalem’s religious leaders, he passionately pursued Christ-followers all over Palestine, flogging them until they renounced their faith in Jesus. Those who remained firm in their faith, he sent to prison…or worse.
The Bible says, “Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains” (Acts 9:1-2 NLT).
Saul received the letters he requested then recruited some extra muscle for his mission. Armed and ready for any resistance, Saul and his henchmen mounted horses and blazed a trail for Damascus. Along the way, however, Saul encountered the risen Christ and everything changed—including his name.
Around noon, as Saul and companions approached the city, a blaze of light, light brighter than the sun, poured out of the sky on Saul. If you’ve ever performed on stage—perhaps in a pageant or a high school musical—then you what it’s like to have a spot light shine down on you… the heat… the brightness that’s almost blinding. Now imagine a spotlight so bright that it outshines the sun. Wrapped in heaven’s light, Saul fell to his knees and shielded his face. That’s when he heard it. Someone was calling his name… twice: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will” (Acts 26:14 NLT).
“Who are you, lord?” Saul cried out.
And the Voice responded, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.”
Jesus certainly knows how to get someone’s attention, doesn’t he?
What I find most curious about Christ’s conversation with Saul is Jesus’s statement, “It is useless for you to fight against my will.” Older versions actually offer a more precise, and perhaps more puzzling, translation. Literally, Jesus said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14 NASB).
Apparently, "to kick against the goads" was a common expression found in both Greek and Latin literature—a rural image, which arose from the practice of farmers goading their oxen in the fields. Though unfamiliar to us, everyone in that day understood its meaning.
Goads were typically made from slender pieces of wood, blunt on one end but with a pointed piece of iron—like a nail—on the other end. Farmers used the pointed end to urge (or “goad”) a stubborn ox into motion and steer him in the right direction. Occasionally, the beast would resist or even rebel by kicking at the goad. The more the ox kicked, however, the more likely the goad would stab into the flesh of its leg, causing the ox greater pain.
This is the image behind Christ’s words.
Saul’s conversion could appear to us as having been a sudden encounter with Christ. But based on the Lord’s expression regarding his kicking back, I believe He’d been working on Saul for years, prodding and goading him in the right direction.
Quite likely, Saul had heard Jesus teach and preach in public places. Similar in age, they would have been contemporaries in a city Saul knew well and Jesus frequently visited. Imagine Saul, standing on tiptoe, straining to watch Jesus, all the while grudgingly wondering how this false prophet could be gaining popularity. Nonsense. He has to be of Satan! Pharisees loved to think that. Nevertheless, Jesus’s ministry stuck in Saul’s mind. The words and works of Jesus haunted the zealous Pharisee. Once you've seriously encountered Jesus, as Saul did, there's no escaping Him. His words and works follow you deep within your conscience. But the more it goaded him, the more he resisted God’s prodding.
I’m certain God goaded Saul in other ways too. Think about all the Christians Saul arrested or assaulted. Don’t you think some of them must have shared their testimony? As Saul dragged them through the streets in chains, they must have pleaded, “You don’t understand. Jesus is real. He is risen. He’s changed my life!” Some may have testified:
• I was blind at birth, but now I see.
• I was lame for 38 years, but now I can walk.
• I was deaf, but now I hear everything.
• I was demon possessed, but now I am free.
• I was dead four days, but I am alive again.
• I ate the bread and fish that Jesus multiplied when He fed the 5,000.
• I saw his nail-scarred hands before Jesus ascended into heaven.
And each time Saul heard these stories it was another goad in his side trying to steer Saul in the right direction. But Saul just kept kicking.
What I find most ironic is that as a Pharisee, Saul prided himself on the fact that he studied under Gamaliel, a highly respected Jewish rabbi. Yet, when Gamaliel first heard about this Jesus movement, he warned the High Council not to act too quickly. He reminded them that some time ago there was a fellow named Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 Jews joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. After him, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him too, but he also died, and all his followers scattered.
And so Gamaliel cautioned his fellow Pharisees, saying, “We should keep away from these men for now. We should leave them alone. I can guarantee that if the plan they put into action is of human origin, it will fail. However, if it’s from God, you won’t be able to stop them. You may even discover that you’re fighting against God!” (Acts 5:38-39 GWT).
Those words must have jabbed Saul right in the ribs, but still he kept kicking against the goads. The High Council agreed with Gamaliel, but despite the wise words of his former mentor, Saul took matters into his own hands and began fighting against God!
Finally, Jesus decided to take drastic measures. Christ took control of Paul and let him know his rebellion against God was a losing battle. Paul’s actions were as senseless as an ox kicking “against the goads.” Paul had passion and sincerity in his fight against Christianity, but he was not heading in the direction God wanted him to go. Jesus was going to goad or steer Paul in the right direction—even if that meant appearing to him in person and striking him blind for a few days.
I just wonder how many of us are fighting against God like Saul.
There is a powerful lesson in this ancient Greek proverb. We, too, only hurt ourselves when we fight against God’s will. Solomon wrote, “Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path” (Proverbs 15:10). When we choose to disobey God, we become like that stubborn ox—driving the goad deeper and deeper. The Bible says, “The way of the unfaithful is hard” (Proverbs 13:15). By resisting God’s authority we are only punishing ourselves.
You see, God has a plan for your life just as he did for Saul. But often times, God’s plans don’t line up with our plans. In fact, the Bible says, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9 NLT). When our plans and the Lord’s plans don’t line up, we resist like a stubborn ox that keeps trying to go the wrong way. So, God pokes and prods us back on track.
He does that in a lot of different ways. It could be through a guilty conscience or a restless spirit. It could be through some sermon that you hear on the radio or wise council of a Christian friend. The Bible specifically says, “The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep” (Ecc. 12:11 NLT).
God goads each of us in different ways for different reasons.
Maybe we have some habit that dishonors the Lord, so God gives a little prick now and then. Maybe there’s a person at church that exemplifies the Christian walk and that makes you realize you have some growing to do. Maybe you figured out you’ve been playing church and your commitment to the Lord is nominal, and it needs to deepen. Maybe God is speaking to you about tithing. Maybe you have a critical or judgmental spirit that needs to change or your family needs more of you right now. Maybe a relationship needs healing. Maybe God’s calling you to a ministry of prayer. Perhaps you’re even like Saul, resisting the God’s call to accept Jesus and you’re just doing your best to handle things on our own without the Lord.
So the question we all have to ask ourselves is, “Have I been kicking against the goads lately?” If you are, is it really worth it? Rebellion carries a high price tag. When we fight against God’s will we’re only hurting ourselves. We’re only delaying the inevitable. How much better to heed God’s voice, to listen to the pangs of conscience and the Holy Spirit’s whispers!
Remember the wonderful words of God to the people of Israel: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
I’d love to tell you that after Saul stopped resisting and surrendered his life to Jesus that everything was sunshine and roses, but that wouldn’t be true. Choosing to follow Jesus made Saul’s life difficult. Suddenly he was on the receiving end of all that persecution. It was challenging, but it led to contentment and peace—he had hope and a future in Heaven. Let’s make it our goal to seek God’s will for our lives and be sensitive to this prodding.
Conclusion:
I really hope you’ve been blessed by this series. If you’ve been with us all seven weeks, then you know that when God calls your name twice, something life-changing is about to happen.
God called Abraham twice to save his son and remind him that nothing should take God’s place in our lives. He called Jacob twice to assure him that he didn’t have to be afraid, that God would be with him wherever he went. He called Moses twice because he saw the suffering of his people in Egypt and he wanted Moses to do something about it. He called Samuel twice to teach him how to listen to God’s voice and to begin a life-long conversation. He called Martha twice to tell her not to worry so much, but instead to enjoy peace and intimacy with Jesus. He called Simon Peter twice to warn him that he would be tested and tempted, but even if he fell, he could get back up and keep going. Finally, he called Saul twice to make it clear that it’s useless to fight against God’s will for your life.
So my final thought for you is this—Is God calling your name? And, if so, do you have the guts to respond?
Invitation:
Maybe, like Saul, you’ve been resisting God’s call and God’s will for your life. Maybe you’ve been kicking against the goads and you’re tired of struggling. If so, I want to invite you to quit fighting today. Embrace God’s will for you. Let Jesus be the Lord of your life. And if I can help you figure out how to do that, then please talk with me after church. Let’s sing together.
