Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Acts 9 – we’re going to be spending our time this morning in this
chapter, but while you are turning over to that chapter, let me share with you 2
Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a
new creation. The old has gone, the new is here!
-- right
before Christmas, a family who had spent their whole life in the country
decided they wanted to take a vacation and go see the big city life for
themselves – so, they made their way to the city and spent the whole day just
walking around, amazed at everything they saw – they went from store to store
and just gawked at all the merchandise for sale – at how the people were
dressed – and how everyone was always in such a hurry to get where they were
going
-- when evening came, they took a
cab to a hotel and the father and the son went inside to rent a room while
their mother stayed outside with their bags – as they were standing there,
taking it all in, they noticed something strange on the wall of the hotel --
there were these two shiny, silver walls that would move apart and then slide
back together again
-- after
standing there looking at it for a few minutes, the boy asked, "What is
this, Father?" -- The father, never having seen an elevator before,
responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I don't
know what it is"
-- about
that time, an overweight old lady hobbled up to the elevator with her cane and
pressed the button – the walls opened up and she walked into the little room
that the father and son could see – a moment later, the walls closed and the
boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up
sequentially
-- They continued to watch until it
reached the last number and then the numbers began to light in the reverse
order – finally, the walls opened up again and a gorgeous young, statuesque
blonde woman stepped out
-- the
father stood there for just a moment and then turned to his son and quietly
said, "Son, go get your mother – hurry!”
-- this
morning, we are continuing in our sermon series in the Book of Acts – we are in
the second part of the Book of Acts that we started last week -- Unexpected
Gospel Growth – where we are looking at how the apostles changed the world as
they shared God’s Word in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth through
the power of the Holy Spirit
II. Change
-- change is
the one constant in this universe – life is not static – like the commercial
says, “Life comes at you fast” -- it is always moving and changing – sometimes for
the good – and sometimes for the bad – but nothing in life stays the same – it is
always changing – and it’s up to us to direct the change in the right way in
our lives and in this world
-- that’s why we make New Year’s
resolutions – it’s because we know that we are not who we are supposed to be –
something about us needs to change – and so we make resolutions to change
something for the better – our health – our weight – our attitude – our emotions
– our finances – our jobs – we are always seeking to change so that we can be
better
-- and it’s not just our lives that
need to be changed – it’s our homes – our family – our country – our
relationships with others and with God
-- the plain truth is that no
matter how things are, we all know that they could be better – and so we have
this desire deep in our hearts to see things change for the good
-- I think this is something that
God put in all of us from the very start – so that we wouldn’t be satisfied with
where we are and who we are, but that we would seek to change – to grow in
grace and to become more like Jesus every day
– so, God made us with an innate
desire to change – to learn – to grow – to mature – to become whole and
complete people – physically – spiritually – and emotionally
-- God is in the business of change
– we see that in His word
-- in 2
Corinthians 5:17 we read that if anyone is in Christ, then they have become a
new creation -- the old has gone – the new has come – literally, this verse
tells us that we have been changed through the power of Christ in us
-- here in
the Book of Acts, we see God changing the church, as the Holy Spirit came and filled
the believers on the day of Pentecost – changing them from being timid
followers of Christ, living in fear of the Jews – to being bold witnesses for
Him in the world with bold messages, bold prayers, and bold hearts
-- in Acts
8, we see God moving and changing the hearts of the people in the areas around
Jerusalem, as God allowed persecution to scatter the believers in Jerusalem so
that His word and the good news of salvation through Christ would be shared
with people in all of Judea and Samaria
-- this
morning, we are going to look at how God chooses to reach down and change one
person’s life, so that he might be empowered by the Spirit to change the
Gentile world and to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth as Jesus told us
to do in Acts 1:8
III. God Changes Saul to Paul (Acts 9:1-22)
-- if you
would, please look with me now at Acts 9, starting in verse 1 [
Acts 9:1 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.
-- when we
looked at the stoning of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7, we were introduced to a young
man named Saul – we read in Acts 7:58, that when the Sanhedrin dragged Stephen
out of the city and began to stone him, they laid their coats at the feet of
Saul – and in Acts 8:1, we are told that Saul approved of the killing of Stephen
-- this is
the same Saul that we read about here in the opening of Acts Chapter 9
-- Saul was
a Pharisee – just to remind you of who they were, the Pharisees were the
religious right of their day – they were very conservative and extremely pious
believers – they put an emphasis on holy living – and came up with rules upon
rules to help people live what they considered a holy life in the eyes of God –
they held the Scriptures and the Law in the highest regard – and truly tried to
live out what they preached
-- so, this
was Saul – this was how he lived – and this was what he believed – so, when the
Christians appeared and began proclaiming that Jesus was the promised Messiah
and that He had risen from the dead, Saul would have taken this as blasphemy,
just like all the other Pharisees in the Sanhedrin
– he would have felt like they were
intentionally spreading fake news – that they were telling lies that were
disrespectful to God and His temple and the Jewish religion – and he felt like
their message was something that needed to be stopped so others would not be
harmed
-- and so Saul took this upon
himself as a holy mission for God -- he went to the High Priest, and obtained
permission to go to synagogues in Damascus, chasing after the Christians who
had fled Jerusalem and scattered to other areas, so that they might be arrested
and brought to trial in Jerusalem before the Sanhedrin so they could be put in prison
or killed
-- if there
was anyone who ever needed a change in their life, it was Saul -- and that's
exactly what's fixing to happen
-- verse 3-9
Acts 9:3 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. 6
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless;
they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but
when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into
Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
-- as Saul
was making his way to Damascus, intent on finding and arresting the Christians
in that place, the Lord Jesus appeared to Him on the road in the midst of a
great light
-- Saul was
literally blinded by the Light -- in the presence of the risen Christ, Saul's
very existence was stripped away -- all that he was -- all that he knew --
changed in that moment
-- when we
are confronted with the presence of God – when we come face to face with the
truth of the gospel and the Word of God -- we are forever changed -- sometimes
that change comes in an instant, as with Saul -- other times, change comes
slowly, as God works in our lives to mold us and to shape our characters and
our personalities into the men and women He wants us to be
-- but, regardless of how it
happens, one fact remains -- God changes everything -- and when God changes us,
He changes the world through us
-- verse 10-16
Acts 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named
Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on
Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12
In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to
restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many
reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in
Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to
arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my
chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to
the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
-- when
Saul was struck blind on the road to Damascus, the men that he was with carried
him into the city to the house of Judas, who lived on Straight Street – we don’t
know a lot about Judas, but we can assume that he was not a Christian, because
Saul and the men he was with did not know who the Christians were in Damascus and
would not have been on a friendly basis with them, even if they did
-- they
were going there to arrest the Christians, so they certainly didn’t bring Saul
to the house of a Christian when they finally got him to the city
-- Saul is
in the middle of a change, but the men around him haven’t been affected, yet
-- while
Saul was sitting there in the house of Judas, the Lord spoke to him in a vision
and told him that a man named Ananias was going to come and place his hands on
him and restore his sight
-- healing
would come – change would come – through the very Christian that Saul had come
to persecute
-- Jesus
spoke to Ananias in a vision, and told him to go to Saul and lay his hands on
him – to heal him of his blindness – both his physical and his spiritual
blindness
-- Ananias
objected – and reminded God that Saul was the same man that had come to harm
the Christians and arrest them in Damascus
-- but God
had a reason and a purpose for Saul – He told Ananias that Saul was His chosen
instrument – that Saul was the person that God had selected to proclaim His
name to the Gentiles and to their kings and to the people of Israel
-- and then
in verse 16, God tells Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for My
name” – change doesn’t come easy – change always comes with a cost
-- if you
are going to lose weight, there is a cost – you must eat less and eat better
and move more – if you are going to change your life, you may need to give up some
things that you have been holding onto, so that your life can be changed and
you can get something better
-- change
always comes with a cost – but the cost is always worth it
-- Saul was
going to experience the very persecution that he had once inflicted – but in
exchange, he was going to be changed into the person that God wanted him to be –
the very man who would bring the word of God to the Romans and the Gentile
nations around Israel
-- verse 17-19a
Acts 9:17 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.” 18 Immediately, something like
scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was
baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
-- Ananias
was a man who had been changed by God – who had come to know the truth of the
gospel and put his faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior
-- and with
that change, came boldness and faithfulness – when God told him to go, Ananias
went – he entered the house of Judas and found Saul there, just as the Lord had
told him
-- he laid
his hands on Saul and shared with him the truth of the gospel – and Saul
believed -- the Holy Spirit came in power and filled Saul with His presence –
and Saul was changed forever
-- the scales
fell from his eyes – both physically and spiritually – and he could see again –
Ananias baptized him, and Saul was changed from a persecutor of Christ to a
believer, filled with the Spirit, and called to be Christ’s instrument to reach
the Gentiles with the gospel
-- but Saul
was not the only one who was changed that day -- when God first spoke to
Ananias in a vision, Ananias could not believe that God was actually sending
him to see Saul -- Ananias knew that Saul had come to arrest the Christians --
he knew that Saul was directly responsible for the death of Stephen and
probably more Christians -- he knew what type of man Saul was -- he didn't
believe that Saul could change
-- we
sometimes think the same, don’t we? – we look at people and we think they’re
beyond God’s reach – that even God can’t save them – that even God couldn’t
change them – and so we don’t even try to reach out to them
– several years ago, I was a member
of a local church, and we were going out and inviting people to come to church
for a special service that we were having
-- we took a map and started dividing up the city
into sections and assigning people to go to each area – when we got done, we
realized that there was one road that we hadn’t covered – and our pastor said, “We
need someone to go down this road and invite the people to come to church”
-- another member
spoke up, “I know the people that live down there – they’re not going to come –
they’re not good people” – they didn’t believe that God had to power to change the
people that lived down that road
-- that’s
the way Ananias was – he didn’t believe that Saul could change – but God told
him to go, so he went – and when he prayed for Saul and laid his hands on Saul,
Ananias watched the scales fall of Saul’s eyes and he saw that Saul had truly
been changed through the power of the Holy Spirit
-- on that
day, Ananias was changed, too – for he came to believe that anyone could be
changed through the power of God – if God could change Saul, then God could
change anyone
-- no one thought Saul could change
-- but God changed him – this passage makes it clear – God changes lives -- and
He delights in taking those people that everyone else has given up on and
making them into something special
-- look back at the second part of
verse 19-22
Acts 9:19b Saul spent several days with the disciples
in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the
Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the
man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t
he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew
more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that
Jesus is the Messiah.
-- when God changes someone,
everyone sees it – when God changes you, you will know it and the people around
you will know it
-- Saul’s change on the road to
Damascus was not temporary – it was not an emotional moment followed by a
return to his old life – it was a permanent change
-- apparently, Ananias took Saul
from the house of Judas and introduced him to the disciples in Damascus – the very
people that Saul had come to find and arrest
-- he spent several days with them,
and then went out and began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son
of God – the people saw him and heard him and were astonished
-- he had changed completely from
who he was to a sold-out evangelist for Christ
-- there will always be evidence of
the change when God is working in your life and in the lives of those around
you
-- a few
years ago, I went to my high school reunion -- there were a few people there
that I truly wanted to see again after all those years -- but there were a few
I didn't care to see at all -- one of them was Phillip
-- Phillip
was the bane of my existence -- he was big and he was mean -- he would hurt you
physically just for the fun of it -- if there was a fight at school, you could
bet that Phillip was part of it
-- when he
graduated, he joined the Army -- and we all knew it wasn't because of any sense
of duty or honor -- it was because he wanted to hurt people for a living
-- so, when
I went to my high school reunion, Phillip was the last person I wanted to see
-- and when I got there, I was actually relieved to see that he wasn't there --
as the night went on, they started to run through a list of what the various
people in our class had done with their lives after graduation -- they said
that out of our class of 120 people, five of them had gone into the ministry
and were either preachers or missionaries -- and guess who was one of those
five? -- yep -- Phillip
-- when his
name was called, there was a low murmur that went through the room -- no one
could believe it -- no one thought Phillip could change –but God had changed
him, just like He had changes Saul into the man we know as the Apostle Paul
IV. Application
-- so, what
does this all of this mean to us? -- well, let me leave you with a few points
to consider as you go about your week
-- first,
keep in mind that change, in and of itself, is good -- God put this desire for
change in our hearts from the very moment He created Adam and put him in the
Garden of Eden
-- God
wants us to change -- that's what the whole Bible is about -- God wants us to
turn away from the old and to embrace the new -- He wants us to become new
creations in Him -- to no longer be sinners and enemies -- but to be saved by
His grace and grafted into the Tree of Life
-- second,
know that change is possible -- it doesn't matter how many times you've failed
at your New Year's resolutions -- it doesn't matter how many times you've
failed at trying to bring about change in your life -- each failure is just a
stepping stone to success
-- Edison
tried over 1,000 times to create the light bulb before he ever got it to work
-- before he ever got it right and made the first working light bulb
-- a reporter asked him one time
how it felt to fail so many times -- Edison replied, "I didn't fail -- I
have successfully discovered 1,000 ways how not to make a light bulb"
-- failure
isn't final -- it's just a step along the way to success -- another opportunity
for Christ to make a difference in your life
-- third,
real change only comes through Christ -- it is only through the power of the
Holy Spirit that real change comes -- it wasn't Saul's good nature that changed
him from Saul to Paul and made him the world's best evangelist
-- it wasn't just a matter of
willpower that made Paul author most of the New Testament -- it wasn't just
remorse that caused my high school classmate Phillip to turn from a person who
hurt others to someone who healed their hearts and souls -- no, it was the Holy
Spirit working through them that changed their lives forever
-- you
can't wish yourself better -- you can't will yourself better --
you can only become a new creation through the Holy Spirit living and working in
you -- change is possible, but only through the Spirit
-- think
for a moment about your sin -- not your sins in general -- but that one sin
that you just can't seem to get rid of -- that one sin that all of us have that
haunts us -- our thorn in the flesh, if you will
-- how many
times have you given in to this sin and prayed to God and turned from it to
just pick it back up again? -- how many times have you failed to master this
sin in your life?
-- the
reason is that you have been trying to master it on your own -- you've been
trying to conquer it through your own will -- through your own strength -- and
that doesn't work – that’s why most people fail to keep their New Year's
resolutions – they’re trying to make a change in their own strength
-- if you
want to see real change in your life, then you've got to lay that burden down
and give that sin to Christ once and for all -- you have to truly release it
and let Christ handle it for you -- for true, lasting change only comes through
Him
-- and,
finally, don't limit yourself when it comes to change -- don't think small --
our God is a big God -- and He wants to do big things through you
-- when God
changed Saul into Paul on the road to
-- when the
people at my high school reunion heard that Phillip was a preacher, God changed
our thoughts about who was outside the reach of God
-- when God
changes something in your life, He has more in mind than just making you a
better person -- He wants to change the world through you
-- don't
limit God by telling yourself that He could never use you like a Paul or a
Phillip -- you just have to believe that it is possible and allow Him to change
you and make you into the person He wants you to be -- and then just hold on
and live the adventure
-- let me
close by leaving you with a final illustration of yet another life that was changed
through the power of God
-- Fernando
Aranda was sentenced to prison for 25-years-to-life because of a lifetime of
violence, drug use, and theft, and even after he went to prison, he continued
this lifestyle -- one day, his 70-year-old mother came to visit him -- she
broke down in tears and said, "I don't want to die seeing you in this
condition."
-- Aranda
was broken and offered a simple prayer to God: "If you'll get me out of
this hellhole, I promise I'll serve you for the rest of my life." -- one
year later, Aranda was unexpectedly released from prison.
--
unfortunately, Aranda didn't change -- he fell right back into his old
lifestyle of violence and drugs -- one day, as he wandered through the city
high on drugs, he saw the Drug Task Force making a sweep -- and he knew that if
he was caught with drugs in his system, that he was going to go back to prison
for the rest of his life
-- he
noticed a crowd of people in a nearby park, so he made his way over to them to
try to hide in the crowd -- no sooner had he hidden himself in the crowd than a
young man came up to him and said "What are you doing here? Don't you
remember the day you prayed in your prison cell that if God would release you
from that hellhole, you'd serve him the rest of your life?"
-- Aranda
was stunned -- how could this man know anything about his prayer? -- before he
could reply, the man pointed a finger right between his eyes and said,
"You know what you have to do"
-- This was
enough to make Fernando Aranda fall to his knees there on the grass -- he began
to weep and cried out to God to forgive him and change him as the power of God
drove this tough criminal to the point of full surrender
-- Aranda
became part of Victory Outreach Ministries and began to impact the lives of
other men with similar problems by discipling them -- his mother eventually
came to see him at the ministry, rejoicing that her prior glimpse of him in
prison was not her final view of her son -- despite what the world thought
possible, Aranda had been changed through the power of God
[modified
from: Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: Jim Cymbala,
You Were Made for More (Zondervan, 2008), pp. 54-57]
-- Change
is good -- God wants us to change -- He wants to see real change in our lives
-- and it can happen -- if you let Him work in you and through you
-- if God
can change someone like Fernando Aranda -- if He can change someone like the
Apostle Paul -- if He can change someone like my classmate Phillip -- then He
can certainly change you and me, as well
-- the Book
of Acts is all about change – how God used ordinary men and women to change
their world as they shared His word and lived out His commands daily
-- as we look at their example in
Scripture, our goal should be to follow them – to open ourselves up to the
change that is possible through the Holy Spirit – and to live out our lives for
God to the full
-- so, as we close in prayer, let
me encourage you to ask God to help you change – to ask God to fill you with
His Spirit and His power so that you can change for the better and so you can
change the world through Him
-- let us go to God in prayer now,
and ask Him to change us and to change our church, so that we might be the men
and women that He has called us to be in this community and that His name might
be lifted up because of us
-- let us
pray
