As we look at the apostle’s Paul’s conversion, we can see clearly he was truly converted. That cannot be said of everyone who professes to be saved!
WHY DO WE WONDER ABOUT PEOPLE’S SALVATION?
Illus: What would you think of one of our soldiers in Iraq if they were always fraternizing with the enemy.
Illus: Bob Hope said the battle of the sexes will never be won because both sides are always fraternizing with the enemy.
That is exactly what many who profess to be saved do, and it makes it difficult to figure out whose side they are on.
After a person is truly saved, their life should reveal they are born again. It should become obvious to everyone that a change has taken place in their life.
Illus: An ex-prize fighter got converted. During his career he had beaten many men, but now after his conversion he was going everywhere witnessing for the Lord.
He came to one man who he had beaten to a pulp many times in the past. He witnessed to him and told him the Lord Jesus had saved him and he is now a new creature in the Lord Jesus.
While he is witnessing to him, the man took his coat off and began to roll his sleeves up. He said, “So you now have religion!”
The new convert says, “Yes, I now have religion but may God have mercy on your soul if I do not have it, if you are fixing to do what I think you are fixing to do!”
As we look at the conversion of the apostle Paul, we see a man who was truly converted.
• It is a marvelous thing to see people come to church LOST but go home SAVED!
• It is a marvelous thing to see people who once lived an UNGODLY LIFE, but after conversion they are living a GODLY LIFE!
• It is a marvelous thing to see a person come to church, who WAS BLIND SPIRITUALLY, but they leave with their eyes OPEN TO THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD!
The more conversions a church sees in their worship services, the more exciting that church becomes.
The apostle Paul had the most UNIQUE conversion of anyone we have ever heard of. Notice, the Bible teaches this about his conversion.
As Paul travels down the Damascus road, let’s look closely to make sure we do not really miss the obvious! Paul was on the Damascus road when God saved him. He was there for a very specific purpose.
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF HIM GOING TO DAMASCUS?
Paul was going to Damascus to wipe out the Christian church, but God stopped him in his tracks.
Illus: When I think of Paul’s conversion, I think of that song that Hank Williams used to sing, “Something Got A Hold Of Me!” The lyrics to that song go like this:
“At first when I heard of some people who claim that the old-time religion was real. I said ‘I’ll go down, take a look at the crowd. For just that weak-minded I feel.’"
“I walked up the steps and I peeked in the door, but the devil said, ‘don’t you go in!’ But I said, ‘It won’t hurt me I’ll just step inside. And I’ll sit as far back as I can.’”
Chorus:
“But something got a hold of me [praise god] Yes something got a hold of me [Oh! Lord] I went there to fight, but I’ll tell you that night, God certainly got a hold of me.”
While Paul was going to Damascus to wipe out God’s Church, GOD GOT A HOLD OF HIM. God can save a person anywhere at anytime!
Paul got saved on the Damascus road.
• The thief on the cross was saved on the cross.
• Many of the disciples were saved by the sea, while engaged in their jobs.
• Zacchaeus was saved under a sycamore tree.
The point is that some of the greatest disciples were saved outside the walls of the church. People have some unusual ideas about salvation.
• Some folks do not believe a child can be saved until they are twelve (12) years of age.
• Some folks believe a child cannot be saved unless they have a certain IQ.
Listen, salvation is based on a revelation by God through the Holy Spirit. Our salvation is not based on place, age, or even our IQ! God saves sinners wherever they are if they are willing to repent of their sins and trust Him for salvation.
You see, IT IS NOT THE PLACE THAT SAVES YOU, IT IS THE SAVIOUR THAT SAVES YOU.
The conversion of the apostle Paul teaches us a number of things. It teaches us that there are...
I. THINGS WE SHOULD NOT DO AFTER WE ARE SAVED
When it comes to the life of the apostle Paul, BEFORE he was saved and AFTER he was saved one word can sum up his life, he was very DEVOUT about everything he did.
For example:
• He was a devout enemy of the church of Christ.
• He was a devout Jew, well versed in Judaism.
Before you can understand a man like the apostle Paul, you have to understand that the word DEVOTION is not just a word to a man like him; IT IS A WAY OF LIFE.
Illus: A man joined the Navy and soon afterward he had to attend a wedding. He asked an officer for a pass and was told he had to be back by 7 p.m. Sunday.
• "You don't understand, Sir," my friend said. "I'm in the wedding."
• "No, YOU don't understand," the officer replied. "You're in the Navy."
Paul was a man who could have been a success at anything he attempted to do. Why? Because he devoted himself to whatever he did.
You see, it is only when we learn to devote ourselves to something that we become good at it.
• The best athletes are men and women who have devoted much of their lives to become good at what they do.
• The best musicians are those who have devoted their lives to playing an instrument.
• The best actors and actresses are those who shoot a scene over and over again until they get it done with perfection. They have devoted their lives to doing it over and over again.
• The best doctors are those who have done surgeries over and over again. Some want a young doctor who just came out of medical school. Listen, when I have to have surgery, I want a doctor who has done surgeries for years and years.
• I want to say that I believe that some of the best preachers are those who have spent years studying and preaching. I know there are some good young ministers, but the best are those who have been tested and stood the test.
The more devoted we are to something, the better we become at it.
Illus: A favorite singer for many is Dean Martin. He can sing with such ease. As he sings, the words seem to roll out of his mouth like he is talking to someone. One day he was asked how he learned to sing with such ease. He said, “The songs I sing with ease, I spends seven or eight hours a day practicing, singing them over and over again.”
The best Christians are those who have DEVOTED their life to becoming the best they can be for the Lord! PAUL WAS TOTALLY DEVOTED TO SERVING THE LORD!
It should not shock us that Paul was such a wonderful Christian.
Illus: Speaking of shock, it reminds me of a mother who worked for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins. She said, “I took my four year old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She looked around in one of the rooms of the shut-ins and saw walkers, eyeglasses, and a wheel chair. But what really caught her attention was a set of false teeth beside the bed of one of the elderly. She looked at them and said, ‘The tooth fairy will never believe this!’”
We should not be shocked as we look at the life of the apostle Paul. He was a great Christian because he was DEVOTED TO SERVING GOD!
Before Paul became a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN, he was a DEVOUT JEW. That is the reason he was motivated to try to wipe out the Christian church. He saw Judaism as the true religion and anything that came to oppose it must be destroyed.
This is why we read in Acts 9:1-2, "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. went unto the high priest, and desired of him 'letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way. whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem."
Notice what happened as Paul set out to destroy the church. As Paul was trying to demolish the Christian church, God gloriously saved him!
Look at verses 3-4, "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth..."
IS THIS SIGNIFICANT? What was God saying? He was saying, "Paul, you are on My side now — stop trying to destroy My church!"
We see that Paul did not understand this before he was saved, and we see God told him, "I want you to STOP IT!"
Paul's conversion clearly teaches us that once we are Christians, we need to stop any kind of tearing down of God's work. AFTER CONVERSION WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON GOD’S SIDE!
Many are tearing down God's churches in ways they do not even realize. For example-
• When teachers are not faithful to teach their classes, they are tearing down God's church.
• When Christians are not faithful to attend the house of God, they are tearing down God's church.
• When Christians take God’s tithe and spend it on themselves, they are tearing down God’s church.
• When choir members are not faithful to attend choir practice, they are tearing down God's church.
In Paul's conversion, God is teaching us that there are THINGS WE SHOULD NOT DO AFTER WE ARE SAVED, and there are …
II. THINGS WE SHOULD DO AFTER WE ARE SAVED
A. WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW HIM
Look at verse 5, "And he said, Who art thou. Lord? And the Lord said. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest..." After we are saved, we need to get to know the Lord Jesus.
HOW DO WE GET TO KNOW HIM? There are a number of things we need to do in order to know Him.
(1) RECEIVE THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S WORD
Notice, after conversion God says to Paul, “Why persecutest thou me.” People do not seem to understand that when they fight God’s church they are fighting God!
Listen, God’s Word is clear. If folks will spend time studying, and attending Sunday school where they can hear it taught, they will come to know the Lord.
Paul asked “WHO ART THOU”, and notice, the Lord told him, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest..."
You cannot know the God of this Bible if you do not know the Word of God. We have to RECEIVE THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S WORD, but also we have to …
(2) SPEND TIME IN HIS PRESENCE
Have you ever known someone that you did not care for that much? (Humor: I see wives looking at their husbands)
We all have met folks that we really did not care for that much, but once we spent some time with them and got to know them, they became our very best friends. That is what prayer does. When we spend time in His presence we truly come to know Him.
• Every day, you need to spend time in the Word of God so that you might come to know Him!
• Every day, you need to spend time in prayer so that you might come to know Him!
• Every time the church doors are open, you need to be here to hear the preaching of God’s Word so that you might come to know Him!
• Every Sunday, you need to be in a Sunday school class that teaches the Word of God so that you might come to know Him!
One of the primary responsibilities we have as Christians is to recognize our need to KNOW HIM.
WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW HIM? If we do not know Him we cannot worship Him. Have you ever asked someone to come to church and they looked at you like you were crazy?
WHY DO THEY REACT LIKE THAT? It is because they do not know Him. And if you do not know Him you cannot worship him.
Illus: Today, I hear people talking about actors and actresses that they adore. I hear these names and I think, “Who are they?” You see, if you do not know someone you cannot adore him.
The reason the lost world prefers to be on the golf course, or hunting and fishing today is because they have no idea of the greatness of God.
One day they will see Him in all His greatness and they will deeply regret that they wasted their lives worshipping things that were not worthy of worship.
Illus: Have you ever seen the television program called, "Let's Make a Deal?" It is a show where they have contestants talk to the host of the show and try to "Make a deal." Sometimes the host might give the contestants five hundred dollars and they are delighted. But then he would point to the stage and show them three doors.
• Behind one door might be an old worthless plow
• Behind another one might be a color television
• Behind the third one might be a brand new car
The person then has to decide whether to keep the five hundred dollars or trade the money for what is behind one of the doors.
Often people will choose to make a deal and trade the five hundred dollars for a worthless plow, then, you see the "agony of defeat".
When many folks stand before the Lord Jesus and see what they have wasted their lives on instead of worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ, you are going to see disappointment and sadness on their faces.
It is our responsibility to know Him. Why? WE CANNOT WORSHIP A GOD WE DO NOT KNOW!
Paul said, "Who art thou, Lord?" In other words, "Lord, if I am going to worship You I have to get to KNOW YOU!”
Another reason we need to get to know him is because if we do not know Him we will not recognize our need to serve Him.
Illus: Suppose I came to you and told you that I had a good friend, who you do not know, and asked you to cut his grass for him. If you did not say it, you certainly would think, "Preacher, I do not know that person. He is a friend of yours, you cut his grass."
Conclusion:
Paul's conversion teaches that immediately beyond conversion there are some...
I. THINGS WE SHOULD NOT DO AFTER WE ARE SAVED
II. THINGS WE SHOULD DO AFTER WE ARE SAVED
