Changed in a Flash!
Acts 9:1-6
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
And desired of him the 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.
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, and heard a voice saying unto, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
As we begin this message we must look at the this man named Saul.
1)Very religious – blameless according to the Law of Moses, a Pharisee among Pharisees, very zealous for the faith of his fathers and absolutely convinced that he was doing the Will of God.
2)Rich Heritage – a Jew among Jews, born into the tribe of Benjamin
3)Well educated – Trained at the feet of Gamaliel, one of Israel’s greatest teachers of the day
4)Ambitious – advancing quickly up the ranks of the Pharisees and had ability, desire and talent far above his peers.
5)Full of bitterness and hatred – hated anything and anyone who could be a threat to the things that he believed, and those who would cause trouble for his people and those who opposed the teachings of the high priest and the Law of Moses. He hated those who preached and taught heresy against the Law that had led Israel for so many years.
6)A man of Loyalty – sought out the permission and approval of the High Priest before he acted
Saul was on his way to do the Will of God as he traveled to Damascus – at least what he thought was God’s will.
Saul was destined for a confrontation, for change and for the greatest challenge of his life!
I want you to know that we are traveling down that road too!
Too many Christians are convinced that they are the only ones that are right.
We have become such a self centered church (the church in general) that we think that we have the right and moral and spiritual obligation to fight against anything and anybody that is different.
Just like Saul, we set out on our journey to defend the faith with “blood in our eye”. We are determined to confront, convert or convict anyone who doesn’t agree with us.
There is no love for the lost – only condemnation and judgment for what we see as “sinners who hate God”
The majority of those who claim to know Christ today are bent on confrontation with the world and with the society around them.
Show your support by joining our March, or walking our picket line, or boycotting our enemy or blocking the entrance to a building or any number of methods of disrupting the plans of those we consider as our enemies.
I am as much, if not more, against many of the same things that these well meaning and totally convinced people are, but I believe that there is a far better way to bring about the changes that are needed.
Saul headed out ready for confrontation with the enemy of the Law of Moses. He rode along with his vigilante committee with the permission of the High Priest. He would do everything within his own power to stop the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to arrest or kill his followers.
Suddenly – a blinding flash of light knocked him off his high horse.
GOD KNOWS HOW TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!
God showed up and interrupted Saul’s plans. God shot a laser beam of light out of the throne room of Heaven and knocked Paul to the ground.
Suddenly all of the education, the plans, the hatred, the condemnation that had been controlling Saul was erased in one quick flash and Saul became the accused and the condemned.
The God of Heaven had hunted down the hunter and felled his prey.
Saul had not really heard the voice of God, he had listened only to the voice of religion and of the world.
But now he heard a different voice – a voice with power and authority that shook him to the core of his soul.
This same voice had spoken the world into existence.
This same voice had called to Adam in the Garden
This same voice had spoken judgment upon Satan, the serpent and all of creation as a result of sin.
This same voice had spoken to Moses on Mt. Sinai and given the Law
This same voice had spoken to Lazarus and raised him from the dead
This same voice had raised the Window’s son at Nain.
This same voice had caused the Soldiers to fall backward in the Garden of Gathsemane
This same voice had cried out, “it is finished” as he paid the price of redemption on the cross
This same voice cries out to us today – follow me, and I will make you fishers of men
This same voice speaks to each of you – this is my will for your life, now do it
This same voice will someday say to us “Well done my good and faithful servant”
I want to hear his voice –
I want to be a sheep of his fold –
I want to know his voice –
When that voice came from Heaven, Saul knew this was no ordinary voice, but he didn’t know the Lord and didn’t recognize him
But Jesus had come to make a change in Saul’s life, so He revealed his identity to Saul
I AM JESUS – the one you are really fighting against, the one you are really condemning, the one you are really persecuting – I AM JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF KING AND LORD OF LORDS, CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE – I AM THAT I AM!
Now those around him didn’t hear what Paul heard. They weren’t ready to hear.
God come to each man in his own time and in the way that He knows will reach him.
People who haven’t heard the voice cannot understand and cannot know what we are all about.
They only know that we are different – that something has interrupted our lives and changed us in a flash.
Some earthly minded preachers have said that Paul’s experience was:
1)Heat stroke from the desert sun
2)Paul was struck by a bolt of lightning on a clear day and he only thought he heard a voice
3)Paul had an epileptic seizure
Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of the past said, “If that’s true, I wish that all men could have epilepsy.”
Man is always trying to explain away the things of the supernatural.
To admit that there is really a world of the supernatural is to also admit that Heaven and God and Hell and the Devil are also real and man can’t face the idea that he isn’t the final authority on anything.
Paul was confronted with the Light from Heaven, coming down from the Father of Lights with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning.
When we are confronted with the Light of Jesus by hearing his Word preached or the eyes of our spirit are opened and the light of love flows in, we can’t help but be changed.
We can then chose to change and follow the Light or we can chose to close our eyes and walk into the depths of darkness.
Saul did not stand up and look into that light and say, “Look at me, I’m Saul, Look at who I am”. All that Saul was, all that he knew, all that he had planned suddenly meant nothing.
Without Jesus we are nothing, we can nothing outside of His power within us, we can accomplish nothing for the kingdom of God without Jesus.
Jesus said, “Its hard for you to kick against the prick”!
Just as you take a stick with a sharp point and drive cattle into the pen or the barn, The HOLY GHOST and the Word of God act as a sharp goad to constantly push us toward the Cross of Christ.
We can kick against it, fight against it, try to forget about it, but the goading continues.
It isn’t God will that anyone should perish and He is constantly trying to reach us and turn us back
Saul had been goaded before too:
1)At the stoning of Stephen – Saul stood by and held the coats of those who threw the stones – something about the words and actions of Stephen as he died touched the heart of Saul but he fought the feelings of guilt and condemnation in his own heart
2)At the feet of Gamaliel – as the teacher of the Pharisees warned him to leave the followers of Jesus alone when he warned the entire council to not fight against God
3)The boldness of Peter and the other disciples as they preached the gospel message with power and authority after the Day of Pentecost. – their had to be more than this than met the eye
Saul was instantly and eternally changed in the flash of light.
Where he was threatening, now he was trembling
Where he was in control, now he was under God’s control
Where he could see his future under his own control, now he was blind to the world around him and blind to the future that law before him.
For three days Saul was blind – that gave him time to focus on the things that God wanted him to do. It gave him time to think about his life, to repent and learn to depend on God’s voice and leading in his life.
Sometimes God must lead us into a blind corner and take away our ability to do anything before we will stop long enough and listen close enough to hear His voice.
SAUL WAS INSTANTLY CHANGED FROM PERSECUTOR TO PROCLAIMER!
The fire breathing dragon of the devil from Jerusalem, bent on destruction of Jesus’ disciples had now began to breath the fire of the gospel from his lips to convert his fellowmen.
When Ananias came to Paul, being sent by God to heal him and pray for him, Saul was still full of questions.
“Ananias, Ananias, tell me what kind man Jesus is”
Ananias laid hands on Saul – Saul was healed, his sight came back, and he could clearer than ever before. Saul was filled with the Holy Ghost and power.
Saul’s name was changed to Paul and he received the greatest commission and calling a man could receive. He was called to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
The rest of Paul’s life is history.
This man who had once persecuted Jesus became the greatest missionary who ever lived and his life has touched the life of every man since that day.
WHAT DO YOU WANT OUT OF LIFE?
WHAT DO WE WANT ON OUR EPITAPH?
WHAT HERITAGE WILL WE LEAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN?
Will we fight against the goad?
Will we walk in our own power and understanding?
Will we fight battles in the flesh and try to use our own strength to change the world?
Or
Will we be changed by the light? Will we preach the gospel and let Jesus change the world? Its up to us!
