Who would surprise you to learn they were a follower of Jesus ? Would it surprise you to find that: Bono front man of the band U2 is, or the previous American President Jimmy Carter is, or Denzel Washington not only is the son of a preacher but also professes a personal faith in Christ, or that Magnum PI Tom Selleck is, or the renowned martial arts actor Chuck Norris is. Norris says his mother continues to be a great influence in his life. "She loves Jesus with all of her heart and soul and made sure we understood that [growing up,]" he said, following a book signing in Atlanta. "She influenced me spiritually and instilled in me a sense of responsibility that carried over in my later adult life. She always told me 'God has plans for you,' and I didn't know what she meant. I think I do now."[1] Some people surprise us when we learn they have become followers of Jesus. As we find ourselves today seeing the power of God, that turns a fanatic, into the one of the premier evangelists about the Good News of Jesus. It is men like the Apostle Paul who give us hope that God can change lives. As we see today Luke wants us to see Jesus in Acts, and he points us to the call to repent and believe in him. As we see how Jesus is the one, who turns upside down societies and communities. Jesus transforms lives. This is where we find ourselves today with Saul the zealot, a man bent on destroying the followers of Jesus, who’s life is transformed by a vision on a dusty Damascus road of the resurrected Christ. As we read in verse 1-2 1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Saul seeks to take up where the stoning of Stephen left off.
Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem. This stoning occurred because he testified he had seen Jesus standing in heaven, risen again. In the face of Stephen’s death we read of his plea for people to repent and believe Jesus Christ is Lord. As we also read that when Stephen is killed by the mob, Saul’s there holding their coats,
giving his approval to the first killing of a follower of Christ. It is now evident that with one success, Saul sets about to crush the rest. Saul’s had no room for compassion. What might surprise us is that as a Pharisee was they were known for their caution and leniency. Saul isn’t interested in that. Saul was zealous for the traditions of his father’s and he was prepared to take whatever measures were necessary to stop these followers of Jesus. Saul took matters into his own hands by going to the High Priest for a letter to take with him to Damascus, to capture and imprison as many of these followers of Christ he could. Damascus lies in southwestern Syria today, about a 10 day journey by foot covering about 300 km. It is what makes his transformation all the more astonishing, on that dusty Damascus Road. This zealot persecutor suddenly becomes one of the Bible’s greatest ambassador’s for Jesus. I wonder if you can you remember who shared the good news about Jesus with you? As we read in verse 3-5 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. There is a blinding light, Paul’s forced to his knees, he hears a voice as Jesus speaks, all Saul hears is who it is he really has been persecuting. It finally sinks in only after he saw Jesus face to face, and hearing and seeing Jesus changed his life forever. What we see is how Jesus transforms lives, and changes hearts, and finally forgives our sins. So much so that the zealot bent on destroying the church becomes a disciple of Jesus. It is through Paul that Jesus will bring the gospel message to every nation
Saul now blinded by the vision he has had on the road, and seeing the fully revealed glory of the resurrected Jesus, is led into Damascus where he will face a test of his faith. The test is that through suffering Paul will learn all the more about the grace of God and how he transforms our lives with courage. Paul gets a lesson on reoriented hope. That is his walk and his worship matters as do his motives and his lifestyle. As we read in verse 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. Ananias is visited in a vision to go to Saul. His alarm is understandable as Saul’s reputation had preceded him. This notorious persecutor who had had a hand in the killing of Stephen was the man Ananias is to go and confirm all that Saul had seen on that road, verse 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is the one who writes the promises of life on the human heart. Jesus is relentless and persistent in changing us, he pursues us. So do we see how Jesus brings Paul to a personal level with Ananias, and how applying this to our own lives how our relationship with him is expressed by the way we come towards others. In acts we see from this moment on the gospel spreads; just as our relationship with Jesus overflows in our daily life whether we are conscious of that or not. The question is how much do you think people can really change? That is what was going on for Paul as he flees Damascus when there’s a move to have him killed. He goes back to Jerusalem, as we read in verse 26, 27 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. We thank God for men like Barnabas. These are men or women who I’m sure you’ve known because they are people who encourage us, or challenge us, and inspire us to love Jesus more. Barnabas reached out to Paul, he saw how in Jesus we have a common condition and a common savior, as he introduced him to the apostles spent time with them see what happens next verse 31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. The question is how are we reaching out to and showing we are in this together? How are we showing we have the interests of others in mind? God calls powerful individuals like Paul is to share the gospel with countless thousands, as such men like him are great hero’s of the faith. The same is for us as God also calls us to share our hope with our friends or neighbors, telling them about what Jesus had done, is doing, and will do in us. Jesus calls us to carry his name
David Hassan @ Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 12/3/17