(Read Acts 9:17-24)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to learn more about the amazing life of the Apostle Paul. We have looked at Paul’s conversion experience for a couple of weeks now. This morning we move on from it and see what happened next.
When Ananias found Saul he laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul could now see (spiritually and physically), he knew he was a different man, he knew the Jesus he had been persecuting people for was actually the true Messiah, and he was ready to tell the world that Jesus saves!
Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days, but he wasted no time in telling people about Jesus. Saul began preaching Jesus immediately in the synagogues, saying, “Jesus is indeed the Son of God!” The church’s most ardent enemy was ready to become it’s strongest supporter. All who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem? And didn’t he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?” Most people could see that Saul was a changed man. The more he preached, the more powerful his preaching became and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Saul had recently been one of them, so he knew all that they knew, and he was telling them that all he stood for was wrong. But instead of convincing the Jews, many saw Saul as a threat. The Jews saw Saul as a turncoat and they plotted to kill him. These Jews were watching the city gate day and night. They were ready to murder Saul as soon as he showed his face. So during the night, some of the other believers in Damascus, in something out of the movies, lowered Saul down the city wall in a large basket and he fled into the darkness. The man who had once led the charge against Christ was now paying the price for preaching Christ!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Change in Christ can be immediate and drastic. Saul was a different man overnight. One moment he was Christianity’s most ardent enemy and the next he was ready to be it’s strongest supporter. It does not take but a moment to be changed from a sinner to a believer. The moment you accept Jesus as Lord the Father can turn your hardened heart of stone into a malleable heart of flesh, ready to be shaped in His hands. I will never forget the day I was converted. I gave my life to Christ August 27, 1995 and I immediately knew I was a changed man. I entered the Gospel Service in Camp Doha, Kuwait one way and I left another. God changed me the moment I accepted Jesus as Lord and I have never been the same, nor have I ever gone back!
2. The power of your change lies in God’s Grace. The power of Saul’s change to the Apostle Paul lies in God’s assignment for his life. God brought Paul into the earth to preach the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. While he was fighting against the church Paul did not know his purpose, but once he found it he started down the road to fulfilling it. Not because he had earned the assignment (because he clearly had not), but because of God’s grace. I was the same way. I came to Christ at 23 and I immediately knew I was called to preach. I also knew I had done nothing to earn the assignment. I just received the assignment by faith and I sought to access the grace that is on my life to preach the Gospel. Almost 18 years later I am still preaching. Not because I am so good, but because He is!
3. Not everyone will celebrate your change. While many celebrated Paul’s conversion, there were some who wanted him killed because of it. Those who loved him when he was the persecutor of the church, quickly hated him when he changed sides. They obviously did not care about Paul, they only cared about what he was doing. Once he stopped doing what they wanted, they turned on him in a New York second. So, don’t be surprised when the same happens to you. Not everyone who is WITH you is actually FOR you.
4. Your witness will need to be tested before it becomes powerful. Although Saul attempted to preach immediately after his conversion experience, and he was able to reach some people, the reality is that Paul’s witness needed to be tested and so will ours. Paul’s true power would come later, after he had been tested and come out on the other side of the tests. So don’t get frustrated when your witness is being tested. The test will work out for your good. The more tests you pass, as far as your witness is concerned, the more powerful your witness will be.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank for You for sending Jesus to die in my place. I heard the Gospel message of Jesus and I responded to it. I accepted Your Son Jesus as my Lord and as soon as I did I was changed from the inside out. I am no longer the person I used to be. I was once dead in my tresspasses and sins, but You made me alive in Christ. I have been baptized into Christ and put on Christ. You translated me from the kingdom of darkness and planted me firmly in the Kingdom of Your dear Son. I am in Christ and Christ is in me. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus, called unto the good works that You ordained, before the foundations of the world, that I would walk in. I celebrate the fact that I am a new person in Christ Jesus and I also understand that some people will not celebrate with me. Some will not like the fact that I changed, but I refuse to allow this discontent to slow down my witness. I shall tell the world of my change and tell them that Jesus is Lord! I also know that my witness will not be as powerful as it can be until it is tested. Therefore, I don’t run from tests, I embrace them. I know that every test I endure, for the Gospel’s sake, will make my witness even more powerful! So Father, use me for Your glory. Help me to fulfill Your purpose for my life. Use me to tell the world of the saving power of Your Son. I give myself over to You to be used. Not because I am worthy, but only because of Your Grace! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
