Changing from "no" to "yes" on the most important questions known to man

 “Jesus the Son of God, Jesus the Christ”

(Acts 9:19-22, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 29, 2012)

19 … For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Is Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God? Is He the Christ, the Jewish Messiah? These are the most important questions of history. Saul of Tarsus had left Jerusalem for Damascus with very clear answers to those questions. Jesus was not the Son of God. He was not the Christ. But he was met by the ascended Jesus as he was approaching the city of Damascus, and He was called by God to a new life. He also was blinded. Now, a representative of the Jesus Jews in that city, a devout man named Ananias, has laid his hands on Saul, as God's chosen instrument to grant Saul the ability to see again. Saul was now baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. He had become a Jesus Jew, and for some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. Now He knew that Jesus was the Son of God, and that He was the Jewish Messiah, the Christ, and He was proclaiming those truths, together with the other Jesus Jews in the synagogue.

This was a dramatic change. The experience of Saul had its own particular facts that were just what happened to him. But the change from saying “No” to saying “Yes” on the questions of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was something that happened to many, many first century Jews.

The violent debate between Pharisaic Jews and Jesus Jews in the first century happened in a different world. We may not really know what it was like growing up in homes and synagogues where people were taught that the way to be righteous before God had to do with how you wash your hands and how far you permitted yourself to walk on a Saturday. That was Saul's world. Many had their hopes for eternal well-being in their own keeping of ceremonial laws and traditions. It was a dramatic change for someone from that background to find his hope entirely in Jesus of Nazareth being the Son of God who died for our sins.

Before you knew Jesus, what was your hope for peace with God? Was the question even relevant to you? Did you hope in your own goodness, or in the family, the religious community or nation that you were a part of? Where was your hope?

I don't know how much I thought about eternity as a young person, but I did think a lot about success and achievement and personal worth. My hope for these things was in my own ability. It was a big change in my life when I was introduced on a heart level to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was a real person and that He was the Son of God. All those years I had been confessing with the Nicene Creed that I believed “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father...” But I did not see that as anywhere as real or as important as my grades in school, or my friends, or whether I ever would be any good at a sport, or if my brothers and sisters liked me, or if I could watch Gilligan's Island tonight. Gilligan was more real to me than Jesus, and I did not know what the Son of God meant. When I saw that Jesus was the person who came from heaven to save me, that he had risen from the dead, that He was my Lord, and that He could comfort my soul regardless of what happened in my life, my life itself changed. Jesus is the King, and I am in His family now.

21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”

This change of life is always a shock to those around us. It was a shock to the Jews in Damascus, probably on both sides of the Pharisee/Jesus divide. Those who were champions of Pharisaic Judaism thought that they understood Saul, and so did the Jesus Jews. This kind of surprise should be happening all around us, not only when people come to faith in Christ for the first time, but also when we come back to him after wandering away, and when we grow in faith and come to a better understanding of the call that Jesus has placed upon our lives.

There is a virtue in steadiness in a life that is dedicated to holiness, but there is no virtue to steadiness in worldliness and sin. Our expectation is that the Holy Spirit who called us to life in Christ is now calling us to a better understanding of how to live in Him.

Saul/Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome where he urges upon the congregations in that city that they should abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good. At a very practical level our growth in faith should produce change in our understanding of what is evil and what is good. Saul had been clinging to Pharisaic Judaism because he thought it was good. Now he was clinging to Jesus instead of ceremonial precision. The man who wrote to the Corinthian church saying that he could not remember exactly whom he baptized in Corinth was not the same man that had once placed so much emphasis on ceremonies. The worldly around us should regularly shocked by the work of the Holy Spirit changing lives in this church. We are being shown more vividly than ever what is of Christ and what is not, and we need to be clinging to the one and running away from the other. That will shock people, but it will please the Lord, and that is what we care about right now.

22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Saul did not allow himself to be unduly moved by the surprise of those around him who were shaken up by the change that God's Spirit had made in his life. He kept on being filled with the Spirit and he increased all the more in spiritual strength.

He confounded his old allies, the Pharisaic Jews, by proving that Jesus was the Christ. This word Christ means “Anointed One” or “Messiah.” I once had no particular urgency about the issue of a Messiah, because I had no sense that I needed a Savior. Eventually I met the Savior. I was changed by that, but later moments of suffering and trial convinced me that I needed a Savior much more than I had ever previously realized.

The more I see my sin, the more I know that I need a Savior. Now, I am intensely aware that not just any proposed Savior will do. I am very persuaded by the Scriptures that Jesus of Nazareth is not only the unique Son of God, but that He is the only Messiah. This is not some incidental religious fact for me. It is daily survival and growth in my sense of calling. If other people think that this is crazy, that is their issue, not mine. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah. It is time for us to see that the only Name given among men by which we must be saved is a Name that we have every right and duty to by excited about.

Jesus turned away the anger of God that was against me because of my sin. He did that by dying for me. He has forgiven me of very much. He is powerful enough to restore me to His love over and over. In Him, and especially in His cross, steadfast love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. That news demands my life and yours.

1. What new information are we given in these verses that helps us to better understand the change that has taken place in Paul's life?

2. Why is it significant for Jews to hear that Jesus is the Son of God?

3. What was the initial response of the Jews in Damascus to Paul's message?

4. How would you answer someone who asked you why you believe that Jesus is the Christ?

OT Passage: Psalm 85

The Power of Godliness

 “Appearance vs. Power”

(2 Timothy 3:5)

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ...

5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

having the appearance of godliness,

In the last days there will come times of difficulty. Peter in 1 Peter 4:7 writes, “The end of all things is at hand.” The entire New Testament era is characterized by surprising times of difficulty, especially the difficulty that comes from people.

The people that will give us most difficulty will not be those outside the church who refuse to honor God and live as He commands. The biggest troubles will come from those inside the church who have an appearance of godliness that is not the real thing.

The word that is translated appearance is the one from which we get the concept of

“morphing.” People in the last days will be experts at morphing into godliness. This problem is all about how many gods we serve. If we are only pleasing one god, we can be one person. If we set our affections on multiple idols we will have the constant temptation to morph back and forth between serving the Lord and serving other gods.

but denying its power.

The apostle Peter had his own problem with extreme morphing. It led him to deny the Lord three times. It even caused Paul to confront him to his face when Jews came from Jerusalem many years later. Peter drew away from eating with Gentiles at that time. He morphed, and he had to be called back to being one person rather than two.

Here Paul warns Timothy of those who may morph into worshipers and who then morph back into people that deny the power of the godliness they profess.

There is power in the gospel of grace, power for purity of life. Titus 2:11-14 tells us that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

Avoid such people

Those who deny the power of godliness but are quickly able to morph into great friends of godliness and the gospel must be avoided. They are not safe. Hypocrisy spreads. Turn from them. But don't just turn away from hypocrites. Turn toward the one who is always with you, who died for your sins, and was raised for your justification. Believe in Him, and in the power of godliness that comes from His grace.

See and eat! Be healed and heal!

 “My thoughts are not your thoughts”

(Acts 9:17-19, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 22, 2012)

17 So Ananias departed and entered the house.

God called Ananias, a devout and respected Jew living in Damascus, to enter the house in that city where Saul of Tarsus, a known persecutor of Christian Jews, was staying. Ananias was a Christian Jew. God allowed Ananias a little push-back, but ultimately he had to do what God was calling him today. Habitual push-back followed by rejection of the clear calling of God is not good for people who want to have close communion with God. We don't need to know everything. But what we do know, we need to do.

So Ananias went where God wanted him to go. That's a very exciting thing. When the God who loves us clearly calls His servants into danger or some costly inconvenience, what awaits us when we arrive at the place of His choosing?

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.”

In this case, a very educated Pharisaac Jew who was at the very beginning of a long road of suffering was there. This man, Saul of Tarsus, was in need, and God had chosen that it would be through the simple touch of the hands of Ananias that He would powerfully heal Saul of the blindness he had experienced over the three days since he had been encountered on the road to Damascus by the ascended Jesus Christ.

God had indirectly instructed Ananias to lay his hands on Saul. He had also prepared Saul for this experience during a time of prayer by giving him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

“I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” Those familiar words from the hymn “Amazing Grace,” are reminiscent of John 9, when a man who was born blind was healed by Jesus. He was questioned by the Pharisees, who were investigating whether Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9:24-25)

Later on in the chapter, the Pharisees have words with Jesus.

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41)

Saul thought that he saw everything well when he was traveling to Damascus to arrest men like Ananias, but he was very blind. I am not sure what it was that was blinding him so badly, but I do know that the turning point came when he met Jesus and was actually blinded. That was when he first began to see. While he was still blind, he had a true “vision,” an odd word for a blind man... A man that he would have earlier wanted to kill now laid hands on him. Suddenly the divine illustration was over. And Saul was no longer blind spiritually or physically.

Ananias calls him “brother.” We welcome into the family those whom God has brought into the family. And we do what we can to help them according to the Lord's command.

Why did the Lord Jesus send Ananias to Saul. Not only so that Saul would regain his sight. Saul needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we think we know everything, and we trample all over others, justify ourselves, and imagine that we are the best servants of God. With the Holy Spirit, we see the indescribable gift of Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah, and we are led to give and forgive; to love even our enemies. We walk in the light as He is in the light.

Sometimes you have to lose something important before you see. The Pharisees were offended by Jesus. They did not see. Saul was once on their side. Now they would hate him, and he would love them by proclaiming to them the Jewish Messiah, and collecting money even from Gentiles for their needs in a famine that would come to Judea in a few years.

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.

Which brings us to the topic of food. During the three days after Saul was confronted by the ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus, not only could he not see, he did not eat. After Ananias laid hands on him, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.

Then he rose and was baptized. He could see Jesus as Messiah by the gift of God. He was cleansed from His sin by the blood of the Lamb and filled with the water of heaven by the Holy Spirit. One Jewish man, Ananias, became a conduit of divine blessing to Saul. Another Man, Jesus of Nazareth, through His own death and resurrection, had become His Lord and King.

What was left to do but eat. It was time to take food and be strengthened. You eat because you have a reason for living. Saul had a reason for living. He would spend the rest of his life suffering for Jesus, and considering it a privilege. If you are going to suffer for Jesus, you need to eat.

We are nurtured and fed by the one who gave His body and blood for us. This passage does not tell us that Saul and Ananias, now brothers in Christ, celebrated the Lord's Supper together. It just says that Saul ate and was strengthened.

Let every strengthening and delicious morsel that God gives you remind you of the food from heaven that came to save you. Receive every meal as a gift of God. And then participate in this meal of the body and blood of the Lord in remembrance of Jesus Christ who is your life.

See and eat. Then give and forgive. And celebrate together.

Jesus saves. He brings enemies together around His table. He gave His body and blood for us. Ananias and Saul were now brothers in Jesus Christ, together as sons of God and bond-servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's ways are surely above our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts. Be healed and heal.

1. What was the significance of Ananias entering the house where Saul was staying?

2. How did God use Ananias in Paul's life according to these verses?

3. What happened to Saul?

4. What brought these two men to the point where they would interact with each other in this way?

OT Passage: Isaiah 55:6-9

Who do you love the most?

 “Lovers of God”

(2 Timothy 3:4 concluded)

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ...

Lovers of pleasure

If you don't believe in eternity, if you don't believe that there is any life beyond what you see, it is very understandable that you would live for the fading pleasures of this world. Christians are called to receive suffering for Christ in this life as something that God has granted to them as His gift.

This choice to suffer for the Lord's Name would make no sense if there were no life beyond the grave? That is why the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church that, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

The problem is not being a love of pleasure per se, but a settling on lesser pleasures that are very temporary. As Paul writes in Romans 8:18, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Rather than

We are not seeking pain, but “solid joys.” Do you see the glory of heaven as greater than the glory of this fading world? Christ did. We look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

What do you love more?

Who do you love most?

Jesus was a lover of God. He was a lover of the ones that God has loved from before the foundation of the world.

Lovers of God

In the last days, people will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They will learn to love most what should not be loved at all, and the One who should be loved above all will seem to them to be nothing.

What does it mean to love God? If you love someone, you are willing to suffer for His glory and good. We do that when we have come to see a true family connection that has become intimately connected with our own identity.

God is your Father. Christ is your Husband. Love your Father. He chose you in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Love your Husband. He died for your sins. You were saved because Christ was a lover of God rather than a lover of the fading comforts of the present age.

Readiness

 “Here I am, Lord”

(Acts 9:10-16, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 15, 2012)

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.”

“There was a disciple...” This is the story of the Christian church. The King of the church who died for our sins and rose for our victory works through a disciple here, two of them there, 100 in a third place, and the kingdom of heaven continues its long march toward the day of fulfillment when the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised. What a privilege to suffer for the sake of the Lord who suffered for our eternal good! What a joy it is to serve Jesus Christ!

The Lord who knows His people by name is able to reach us. One time in one way, another time in a different way, the God who reigns touches the hearts of disciple after disciple in an unmistakable call to action. Here in a vision, there in a special act of providence, another time in the encouragement of friends, even in the taunt of detractors, God will let you know what He wants you to do, whether small or great. When He calls, don't be tongue-tied. Get used to His touch, His voice, His love by a habit of continual communion. When He calls, here is what you say: “Here I am, Lord.” Let the spirit of your ready heart speak the words that Eli taught to little Samuel, “Speak Lord, your servant listens!”

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.”

There was a very large Jewish community in Damascus at this time. Among them were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. That was why Saul was traveling to Damascus in the first place. Some of the Jews there who believed Jesus had probably come from Jerusalem, since they had been scattered by the persecution connected with the murder of Stephen.

The Lord gave to Ananias, as one among many Jews, an unmistakable message. On the face of it, His command was actually not difficult to obey. He told Ananias to get up, go to a certain street and a given house on that street, and that a certain visitor who would be there. That man would be waiting for him. Even the miracle of restoring the man's sight would not be hard for Ananias, since all he would have to do would be to lay hands on him. The hard part was actually giving Saul back his sight, and only God could do that. It is not hard for one man to lay hands on another. But only God can do miracles. Yet He uses men like Ananias.

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.”

As it turns out Ananias's response was a push-back to God. The problem was not that he had to get up and go to a specific house. The problem was the man he would find there. Ananias had heard from many people about Saul of Tarsus. This man had done evil things to followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. His fame had reached all the way to Damascus, and those who knew that Jesus was the Messiah were afraid of him.

Not only did Ananias know about Saul, he also knew about Saul's trip. He knew that Saul was not coming here on his own authority. He had authorization from the chief priests in Jerusalem to put in chains all who were calling on the Name of Jesus. We are reminded back to the preaching of Peter from Acts 2. There Peter expounded the message from Joel 2:32, that all who called upon the Name of the Lord would be saved. Peter explained that the Name was Jesus. To call upon His Name was to worship the Lord through association with this one Way between heaven and earth. This was and is the only Name given among men by which we must be saved.

God was commanding Ananias to go to Saul, the persecutor of all who believed in the Name of Jesus as the Name above all names. Ananias did not want to obey.

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.”

But the Lord made it clear that this man who had done so much evil in Jerusalem, and who had come to Damascus to do more evil, would be God's chosen instrument. When we hear the Lord's insistence that Ananias should go to Saul, we are reminded of the power of God, that even out of the wrath of His enemies the Lord has ordained praise.

The Lord chose Saul of Tarsus. This persecutor of the church would carry the Name of Jesus before Gentiles and Jews, even before kings. This man with such missionary zeal for Pharisaic Judaism would now speak for the Son of God. His former allies would be his new enemies. He was once an agent of evil, inflicting unjust suffering upon the body of Christ. Now he would have to suffer for the Name that he had hated, the Name of the Savior who died for Him, Jesus.

Saul would not be able to see without the hands of Ananias. If Ananias had refused the job, the Lord would have accomplished deliverance for His people in some other way. But Ananias had come to the kingdom for such a time as this. This was his finest hour; the time to get up and go.

Can you imagine God working through you; hearing His clear direction, obeying His Word, and glorifying His Name through your body and soul? The Lord humbled a proud Pharisee, Saul, bringing him to the point where He would receive healing and blessing from a Christian Jew. And the Lord gave boldness and trust to a Jew living in Damascus, Ananias, a man who had to come to know and follow God's voice.

When God called His Son Jesus to do His part in our salvation, Jesus knew the danger and horror of the mission. He asked for some other way. When Ananias, the Lord's disciple was approached by God to perform an important task, though he first said, “Here I am, Lord,” he then found out who was involved, and He pushed back. Yet when the command was given again so clearly, there was simply no way to say “No.”

There is no room around the circle of the faithful, for anyone to ultimately refuse the King who died for him. We need to train our hearts to say “Yes” to God. And we need God to equip our bodies and souls for acts of ever-increasing obedience.

All of our obedience starts with the cross of Christ, the source of all courage for those who have been cleansed in the blood of the Lamb of God. From that place of divine strength through holy suffering, God tells us where we are to go, who will be there, and how we are to touch their lives today. We need to be ready to say, “Here I am, Lord!” There was a man of Nazareth called Jesus. And there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. God used him to saved the world.

1. What do we know about Ananias and the Jews in Damascus?

2. What was God's direct command to Ananias recorded here?

3. What was Ananias's full answer to God's direct command?

4. What do we learn from the Lord's final answer to Ananias that might help us in our communion with God and our walk with the Lord in our day?

OT Passage: Esther 4

The Problem of Being Puffed Up

 “Swollen with Conceit”

(2 Timothy 3:4)

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, ...

Swollen

What is it that fills your head today? There are many enticements that would take you away from your first love, the Messiah who has purchased you with His blood.

The lusts of the flesh demand your attention, but they will disappoint you in the end. This world is fleeting, and so are the lusts in it. A second category of desire that can distract you is the lust of the eyes. To see is to know. We want to know. The bad lust to know especially concerns those things that we cannot know. God can grant us a more eager desire for the things that He has revealed in His Word. That would be healthy. But an eager desire for what cannot be known will only be debilitating. You will find out soon enough. Reading the tea leaves will not help you. It is the lust of the eyes.

with Conceit

But in addition to these lusts, there is at least one more that can swell up your heart, mind, and soul. The pride of your life in this fleeting existence can capture you and enslave you. This kind of worldly pride is an enemy, not a friend. It fills the temple of your head with self, a development that is pleasing not to the Lord who loves you, but to the proud spirit, the prince of the air, who comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. His way is not the way of life.

The antidote for this death is the humility of the cross. The message of the cross is a humbling message. Our part in it is to provide the sin. Christ's part is to supply the righteousness, the love, the courage, and the divine satisfaction that speaks peace to our souls forever. This mind needs to be in us, the mind that was in Christ Jesus.

To fill your head with foolish pride is about as satisfying as filling your belly with air. You may get swollen, but it will surely pass, and you will be left with nothing. Pride is a blinding fog. We cannot even see where we need to go. Eventually we have to pull over.

But now the light has come. He dwelt among us, and then He died for our sins. We need Him, and we need to boast in His cross. This clears away the fog so that we can continue on the way of faith. When the church loses sight of the cross of Christ, she has no good news, and no power of the resurrection.

In the last days, people will be swollen with pride. But this is not the way that you learned Christ. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, our pride will look very foolish. The Lord alone will be exalted in that day. Come to Christ again now and be filled with His Holy Spirit. If you will be filled with the Spirit of heaven, how will you have any room left in your soul for the foolish pride that is so characteristic of this passing world?

I Need Another Damascus Road Experience! (or at least I want one for someone else...)

 “The Original Damascus Road Experience”

(Acts 9:3-9, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 8, 2012)

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus,

Saul of Tarsus was a man zealous for the God of the Jews, yet His zeal was without knowledge. Years later he would write of his people who were still the way he used to be. He wrote,

“My heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.” (Romans 10:1-3)

This is the way he was as he approached Damascus. He had a zeal, but not according to knowledge. He was ignorant of the righteousness of God. He thought that he knew all about God's Law, just like all the leading Pharisees. But He underestimated God's righteousness. He had placed too much weight on the Rabbinic interpretation of the Torah, seeking the answer this question: “How can I be sure that I have kept the Law of God?” All the rules that Jewish tradition added on top of the Bible seemed to make everything more strict, but we all look for the easy rules to obey; the outward areas of ceremonial observance that allow a person to be sure that He has kept the Law. But had the Pharisee loved God with all His everything? Had he loved his neighbor as himself? Paul and the whole Pharisaic movement were ignorant of God's righteousness. That bad misstep led to another. “How can I establish my own righteousness apart from God?” The Pharisees had the answer to that. Men like Saul considered themselves blameless because they were very scrupulous in following the outward traditions of man-made righteousness. This satisfaction in their own holiness led to their most serious error. When God came in person, they rejected Him. They would not submit to Jesus, who is God's righteousness and the only begotten Son of God who came to live for us and to die for us.

This zeal without knowledge filled Saul's heart, and sent him forth with papers from leaders in Jerusalem to go and clean up the synagogues in other lands. How? By arresting and putting in chains Jews in those synagogues who were followers of Jesus Christ. He wanted to cleanse all the synagogues of the followers of the Lord Messiah. They could stand trial before the religious court in Jerusalem just as Jesus had stood trial there. That court had determined that Jesus was a blasphemer who deserved death, handing Him over to the Romans to be crucified. That court had tried to silence the apostles, demanding that they not preach or teach in the Name of Jesus. That court was involved in the murder of the preaching Deacon, Stephen. That court approved of the persecution of Jews who believed that Jesus was the Son of God, both in Jerusalem and in other cities where there were synagogues. In all of their efforts to silence the messengers of good news and to stop the church, they had failed miserably. Their solution was to try harder. But they would fail again. Not only had they played their part in the events that led to the cross, their latest efforts to stop Jesus would further the publication of His Name to other lands.

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?”

But now one of there own number, one of the most intelligently ignorant and zealous Pharisees, Saul of Tarsus, was about to become a follower of the Way that He hated. How would that happen? God would meet him. Suddenly a light from heaven was shining around him, and he fell to the ground. This proud man was worshiping in fear what he did not yet understand.

The voice that he heard was very revealing. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul had been arresting followers of Jesus Christ. But this voice took this persecution of the church very personally. He said that to harass His followers was to persecute Him.

5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”

Yet Saul still did not know who He was. Wasn't it obvious? He did not know who it was that was taking offense at his efforts to serve God by cleansing synagogues of those who believed that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord. The church is His body. If you mock or hurt the church, then you attack the body of Jesus Christ. Not safe. Jesus will not stand for that forever.

Saul thought that He was a careful follower of God and of God's rules. But God's first rule is this: If I send my Son to live for you and to die for you, don't despise Him. If you claim you love Me, you should get to know who my Son is. If my Son speaks to you, through His church, you should recognize His voice. Saul did not know the voice of Jesus when Stephen preached.

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.”

But the voice of God, Jesus Christ, is a gracious voice. He reveals His Name. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Oh.

Now what? Am I going to die? I might have expected that. Saul certainly deserved to die. So did all of us for as many years as we have ignored the voice of the Lord when He was speaking to us; all those years when we thought we had a better way to be right with God than His Son.

This is just as true for all who ignore the voice of God after we have acknowledged Jesus as Lord. How many years have you been hearing that Voice without any real acknowledgment with your life that God is telling you what you are to do? How long have you underestimated the authority of the Voice that called you out of darkness into His wonderful light? How long have you been ignoring the voice of the Lord? Hasn't it been long enough?

It was long enough for Paul when he was stopped right in the middle of his intelligent hostility to the true righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. It was long enough when God said to him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” Are you listening to the Lord? He will show you what to do next. But do obey Him.

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.

God does not do the original Damascus Road event for everyone. This first one provided important historical evidence for everyone to consider. What in the world happened to Saul of Tarsus? But you may feel that you or someone else you know needs something like this. Do not wait for that experience in order to come to your senses about the authority of Jesus Christ over your life. Even the people who were with Saul did not get that same experience. Saul got what he needed, but then he was a hard case. How hard a case are you? How gently and persistently has God been calling you to Himself? Make the most of what He has done to call you.

Paul lost his sight on the day when he was finally able to see the truth about Jesus. Interesting. A proud Pharisee had to be led by the hand into Damascus. Has God taken something from you for a season? Perhaps it is only for a season after all. Everything He does for you is an expression of His grace. Remember He will restore and heal. He will make all things new. He does want you to see Him. He does want you to hear His voice again. He will lead you home by His own hand.

1. What happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus?

2. What is Jesus doing in this encounter?

3. What was the immediate impact of this experience on Saul?

4. What is the significance of a “Damascus Road” experience?

OT Passage: Psalm 131

Breathe in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Breathe out love.

 “The Era of God With Us”

(Acts 9:1-2, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 1, 2012)

1 But Saul,

Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee. He describes himself later in his life in this way:

I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:4-11 ESV)

Later in Acts he is quoted as speaking before the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, saying:

I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way (followers of Jesus) to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. (Acts 22:3-5 ESV)

And later in the same book we read this quote, when he was in front of a different authority:

I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 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. 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 ESV)

This Saul, a great defender of the Pharisaic way and a persecutor of the church, became one of the most persuasive defenders of Christ as Messiah that the church has ever known. The chapter that we begin this morning tells us what happened to make Saul, the hater of the Way of Christ, into Paul, the apostle and teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,

This morning we need to give some serious consideration to the fact that this Saul had been and was “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” This is the same Saul who had been in Jerusalem on the day when Stephen was put to death by stoning. Saul had watched the cloaks of those who murdered Stephen supposing that they were serving the Lord by ending the life of this great man. Stephen prayed for them that day. Falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” But Saul, we are told, “approved of his execution.” Saul was “still” the same as this chapter begins.

We are used to religious disagreements, both inside any group and between various groups. That should not surprise anyone. But we are rightly alarmed when we hear of people breathing threats and murder against other people who, like them, were created in the image of God.

This struggle was between the Jewish faith of the Pharisees, and the Jewish faith of those who were known as followers of “the Way,” eventually called “Christians.” We could easily forget that this was a struggle between two groups of zealous Jews. Both sides had a devotion to something beyond themselves. Are you able to distinguish between the two groups? One is well represented by Saul of Tarsus; the other by the apostle Paul. That's worthy considering, since we are talking about the same person, but then these two men do not seem to be the same person.

Both men had definite belief systems and rituals, were serious about the Bible, and zealous for the religion of the God of the Jews. Saul the Pharisee was zealous for the Pharisaic view of the Law, that combination of biblical law and Jewish tradition that was so offended by the behavior of Jesus Christ. According to them, Jesus did not do ritual purification right, He did not keep the Sabbath right, and He did not show sufficient deference for the religious leaders of the Pharisees.

The apostle Paul was a different kind of Jew. He was more zealous for Jesus than for ceremonial law-keeping or liturgy. He was the chief representative in the Mediterranean world of Christian Judaism. He was more interested in love than in circumcision. He also insisted that Gentiles did not have to become practicing Jews in order to be disciples of Jesus Christ. He was so captivated by Christ, the cross, and the resurrection, that he wrote to the Corinthian church, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He believed that the love of Christ claimed people and changed people. He was filled with the Holy Spirit.

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.

Paul faced the hatred of men like Saul. Paul's enemies were zealous about the things that Saul loved. Saul approved of the murder of Stephen. Saul was ready to arrest other Jews in distant cities because they believed that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. That's why he was on the road to Damascus. He had important papers with him, letters to the synagogues of that Syrian city from the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem who agreed with him. He was ready to take parents away from their children and young men and women away from their parents in order to bring them before the authorities in Jerusalem. He longed to see Christians in chains. That was Saul. He had bad religious breath. He was breathing in hate, and he was breathing out murder.

Paul's heart was different. He loved his countrymen the Jews, though they exasperated him. He wanted to see them free in Christ, alive in the Jesus who died for their sins, and full of the love of the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent down form heaven. His breath was... heavenly.

What was wrong with Saul's Pharisaic Judaism? There was no Jesus in it, and there was no Holy Spirit in it. If you do not have the Son and the Spirit, then you do not really have the Father either. What are you left with? … idea constructs, liturgy, and law that only bring death. Where does your religion take you? Do you want people to be free? Do you love your enemies? Remember the One you represent. He said this at His death: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. And trust Him.

Where was the Almighty I-AM when Jews were killing Jews, all claiming to follow Him? He was where He was when the Sanhedrin determined that His Son was a blasphemer, and when religious leaders said to the Man on the cross, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” He was showing us life and glorifying His Name by letting us see the difference between religion that has the Son and the Spirit and religion that does not. It is one thing to say that a religion that is all theology, liturgy, and law makes you murderous; it is quite another to feel the difference between hatred that is ready to kill and love that is willing to die. But God made Saul into Paul. He can fill us all with the Son of His love and with a new Spirit of gentleness. He can make us disciples of Jesus Christ. It is time for God to be with us.

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12

1. What is the story of Saul of Tarsus?

2. Why did Saul stand against the disciples of the Lord?

3. How zealous was Saul for God? How zealous were the disciples of Christ?

4. Why was the story of Saul's persecution of the church so important?

OT Passage: Psalm 146