Acts 9:1-31
I'm contemplating Acts 9 for this weeks sermon (Saul's conversion) and I have two interesting thoughts.
First, it's interesting what happens when someone encounters Jesus. Saul thinks he is honoring God but in reality is persecuting Him (Acts 9:5). After he encounters Jesus he does an immediate turn around. The same passion that he had originally now gets refocused by Jesus and is used the way that God intended it. What happens to us when we meet Jesus? I don't think we are surprised when the rough edges are sanded off of us or we loose our bad habits but are we willing to allow Jesus to completely transform our lives. For Paul, Jesus wasn't just an upgrade, it was a complete revision (from Saul 1.0 to Paul 2.0). His entire identity got changed. Who he was, what he did - everything. Shouldn't we expect the same when we encounter Jesus - the idea that everything that we thought we were Jesus might just revise.
Another observation is how the church responded to Saul. Ananias is not overly happy about it (Acts 9:13-14). The apostles are hesitant (Acts 9:26). It is so easy for us to preach about changed lives but sometimes we have a hard time accepting them. I don't believe that Saul was on anyone's "target list" for potential converts. He was the enemy who not only hated the church, but he did everything in his power to destroy it - even to the point murder. Yet Jesus had plans for him (isn't that just like Jesus!).
Sometimes I think we look at people and predetermine who is "saveable" and who is not. We are selective on who actually hears the gospel. And when they come to the church some people are given a pass and others are put under higher scrutiny. This has been a stumbling block for the church for centuries. Recently, a good friend of mine was explaining to me where the terms "soul food" and "soul music" came from. It seems that at one time, the church believed that those of African decent did not have souls (thus the justification for slavery). The use of the word "soul" in the African American culture was to counter the belief that they were soulless.
How many people do we believe are soulless? Who is beyond Jesus? We all know the answer is no one but how do our actions answer this question? Who are the Sauls, Samaritans, Barbarians or Slaves of our day? Who can't you ever imagine coming to Jesus?
I'm pretty sure Jesus can imagine them coming to Him. Perhaps we should ask Him how we can help.
First, it's interesting what happens when someone encounters Jesus. Saul thinks he is honoring God but in reality is persecuting Him (Acts 9:5). After he encounters Jesus he does an immediate turn around. The same passion that he had originally now gets refocused by Jesus and is used the way that God intended it. What happens to us when we meet Jesus? I don't think we are surprised when the rough edges are sanded off of us or we loose our bad habits but are we willing to allow Jesus to completely transform our lives. For Paul, Jesus wasn't just an upgrade, it was a complete revision (from Saul 1.0 to Paul 2.0). His entire identity got changed. Who he was, what he did - everything. Shouldn't we expect the same when we encounter Jesus - the idea that everything that we thought we were Jesus might just revise.
Another observation is how the church responded to Saul. Ananias is not overly happy about it (Acts 9:13-14). The apostles are hesitant (Acts 9:26). It is so easy for us to preach about changed lives but sometimes we have a hard time accepting them. I don't believe that Saul was on anyone's "target list" for potential converts. He was the enemy who not only hated the church, but he did everything in his power to destroy it - even to the point murder. Yet Jesus had plans for him (isn't that just like Jesus!).
Sometimes I think we look at people and predetermine who is "saveable" and who is not. We are selective on who actually hears the gospel. And when they come to the church some people are given a pass and others are put under higher scrutiny. This has been a stumbling block for the church for centuries. Recently, a good friend of mine was explaining to me where the terms "soul food" and "soul music" came from. It seems that at one time, the church believed that those of African decent did not have souls (thus the justification for slavery). The use of the word "soul" in the African American culture was to counter the belief that they were soulless.
How many people do we believe are soulless? Who is beyond Jesus? We all know the answer is no one but how do our actions answer this question? Who are the Sauls, Samaritans, Barbarians or Slaves of our day? Who can't you ever imagine coming to Jesus?
I'm pretty sure Jesus can imagine them coming to Him. Perhaps we should ask Him how we can help.
Labels: Sermon Prep
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