Welcome to this podcast from Harvest Community Church of Huntersville, North Carolina, where our vision is to make disciples who make disciples. I'm your host, Liz Stefanini. doing a series here at Harvest through the New Testament book of Acts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, the fifth book in the New Testament, and it's called When God Builds His Church. We continue today, and we're going to come to Acts chapter nine. Kim Shin-jo was a trained assassin. In January of 1968, he and a team of killers, 31 of them, descended from North Korea through the woods into South Korea with one mission, and that was to kill the president. They were intercepted just a few miles short of the presidential residence, and a battle broke out. In that battle, 30 South Koreans were killed. and all of the team of commandos were killed except for two. One of them escaped, one of the North Korean soldiers escaped, and Kim Shin Jo was captured, and he was put in jail in South Korea. For months, he went through interrogation, and surprisingly, a friendship developed with an army general from South Korea. And this army general was used by God to soften the heart of a trained assassin. In fact, he said, I tried to kill the president. I was the enemy. but the South Korean people showed me sympathy and forgiveness. I was touched and moved. So over time, eventually the South Korean government released him. And over the next three decades, he worked for the military. He became a citizen. He got married and raised a family and eventually became a minister of the gospel in the church. Through the power of Jesus Christ and the grace of God, he found new life. And human beings, of course, were used in the process. This was a case of radical transformation. A violent man was turned into a man. into a follower of Jesus Christ. It happened then. It's happened many times. I won't name him right now because it's, you know, this is being recorded and shown who knows where, but one of our missionary partners was once a member of a violent murderous organization and God saved him. And then he ultimately eventually became a pastor and a trainer of pastors and Christian workers. It's still happening. God is in the business of changing people and transforming them into his soldiers. And that's what we have before us today in acts chapter nine. Let me set the context for you up to this point in acts. Almost all of the converts to Christ have been Jewish people. But now as we get into Acts 9, it shows how the gospel is going to start to spread to the Gentiles. And it starts right here with a man named Saul, who was Jewish and became converted And then God also called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles. That was his main mission in life, to go spread the gospel to the Gentiles. That's what this story is all about. And we're gonna read this story. And as I read this story, I want you to be on the lookout for something. I'm gonna read the first 19, the whole 19 verses. But I'm gonna read it and I want you to think about something and I'm gonna then give you a minute or two to turn to someone around you and discuss it. This is a story of a conversion account that is really unusual. And there are some things when somebody is saved, when they're converted to Christ, that are unique to them, that it's unusual to them, and then there are other things that happen for everyone who comes to Christ. So I want you to listen for the things here that are unusual. The things that happened in Saul's case, that we wouldn't count on happening every single time or maybe ever again, okay? So that's what you're listening for. Let's read this account. You watch for those things and I'll give you a chance to discuss them. Verse one, meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found anyone there who belonged to the way, that was what they were calling Christians at that point, the way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the sounds, but did not see anyone. 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. For three days, he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, Ananias. Yes, Lord, he answered. 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. In his vision, he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Can you imagine if you were Ananias? Lord, Ananias answered, I've heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem and he has come here with authority from the chief priest to arrest all who call on your name. 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. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. 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 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once, he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the Word of God. So take a minute or two, couple minutes there with someone around you and think that through. What happened here that is unique, unusual, it's unique to Saul in his conversion and we shouldn't necessarily look for it for every conversion. Take a minute or two to do that and then we'll come back together. Okay. So here are some of the unique elements to Saul's conversion that you probably came up with. There was a flash of light, right? Light or lightning that stopped him. There was a voice from heaven that addressed him by name. There was a resurrection appearance of Jesus. Jesus appeared directly and talked to him. He was blinded. And he was commissioned to be an apostle. Those are some of the basics. I don't know, you may have gotten others. If you got others, text them to me or email them to me. But the point is, this is very unusual, right? I don't know I mean, one group, I felt a lot of brainwaves coming from a group over here and I just slipped over there and they said, well, we all got blinded and, you know, so we just assumed that happened to everybody, but very unusual. However, This is God's word. And the beauty of God's word is we see in it some things that often are unique to that particular time, but we also see things that are true of every conversion to Christ. So in spite of the fact that this is a dramatic and unique account of one man's conversion to Christ in the first century, an opponent of Jesus Christ, and it's not intended to be the model for subsequent conversions, there's a lot of value in studying this text, namely, for all of us, All of us today, as we look at what is common to conversion, then it gives us a chance to look at ourselves and to ask the question, am I converted to Jesus Christ? Am I saved? Not am I a good person or moral person, you know, believe in Jesus in some general sense, but have I had an encounter with Jesus Christ? That'll give you a chance to ask that question. Secondly, for those who have encountered Christ and Christ has saved you, This will be a great reminder of the mercy of God and you will be able to walk away and say God Thank you for showing me your mercy and then thirdly understanding the key elements of salvation For those who are believers will be very helpful for all of us as we deal with other people God if you're a believer in Christ God has called you to be his witnesses and And this will allow some good reminders or new things to help you as you engage with others. So let's arrange it this way. Why? Every conversion to Christ is a miracle of mercy. Paul's, sometimes I'll say Paul because his name was Saul and it changed to Paul. And it's just gonna come out. I'm not used to calling him Saul. But Saul's conversion was a miracle of mercy. But every single one of them is also, and here's some reasons as we walk through the text. It's because an opponent of Christ becomes a follower. Verse one, meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. Remember, that was the setting, that was the context. The church was growing. People were being saved and, and Saul was watching it. And Saul was sitting there in Acts chapter eight, verse one, while they martyred the man, Stephen for preaching about Jesus. And it says, Paul, Saul was approving it. He was kind of holding the coats for them and he approved it. And then he began to destroy the church. Now why? Did Saul have such a problem with Christians? The Jewish people of his day divided history into three eras. There was the age of chaos, the age of the law, and the age of the Messiah. Saul's problem was not that they believed in a coming Messiah, but that they believed that Jesus was that Messiah, especially since he died on a cross. I mean, for us as Christians, that's the centerpiece of our faith. But for Jewish people, the Old Testament had said, cursed is the one who hangs on a tree. And so Saul was drastically against them. And he goes to the high priest, and he asked the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. Now, there were several synagogues in Damascus. It was a large Jewish colony. And Saul was not only pursuing Christians around Jerusalem, but he was going this trip that would have taken about a week in that day. It was 150 miles. He was pursuing Christians as far away as Damascus to capture believers there. An opponent of Christ. He's an opponent of Christ. We've seen it in recent generations. Josh McDowell tried to disprove the validity of Christianity. He met a student at the University of Uruguay one time and said, the reason why I became a Christian is because I couldn't refute an irrefutable fact of history that Jesus rose from the grave. And then he became a leading Christian apologist. Lee Strobel was an atheist and an investigative reporter in Chicago whose wife became a believer And he started researching it, and he became a believer in Jesus Christ and started writing books to defend Christianity, like The Case for Christ, The Case for Christmas, and The Case for Easter, et cetera. Stan Telkin was a Jewish man whose daughter became a Christian, and this outraged him. And because he was so outraged, he decided to study the Bible so he could convince her it was wrong. And guess what happened? He became a Christian himself. Yes, these are examples of people who, in a dramatic way, opposed Christ and became his follower. But if you grew up in a Christian home, you haven't been on the road to Damascus to try to kill Christians. But you know what the Bible teaches that every one of us before and outside of Christ are God's enemy. Every one of us Romans chapter 5 verse 10 says for if and this is Saul now Paul writing for if while we were God's enemies. We were reconciled to him through the death of his son. How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life? And Colossians 1, 21, once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in his sight without blemish and free from accusation if you continue in your faith established and firm and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. Everyone is an enemy of Christ. And then, through the grace of God, some become followers of Christ. Secondly, why is it a miracle of mercy? God clearly revealed himself in a personal encounter with Jesus. Verse 3. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus whom you're persecuting, he replied. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. This was a stunning revelation to Saul. He's on the road to try to arrest and kill Christians and all of a sudden, boom, it's this sudden light and he's down on the grounds and someone is speaking to him. And that's Jesus. And again, that doesn't happen normally in that direct fashion. But every person who comes to Christ, every person who is saved has a personal encounter with Christ. Nobody can say, I'm a Christian. Sometimes people use this language and it makes you wonder, do they really understand the gospel? They say, oh, I've been a Christian all my life. I don't think anybody has been a Christian all my life, all their life. Now, if by that they means early on in my life, I received Jesus Christ and began following him. Okay. If they mean that, but nobody's automatically a Christian just because they're born into America or into a Christian family. It requires a personal encounter with Jesus. It encounters dealing with him one-on-one. It encounters admitting your sin, admitting your separation from God, thanking Jesus for paying that price and accepting him and his price and believing in him as your Lord. God always takes the initiative in salvation. God must open the eyes of someone in order for them to be saved. Paul will write. to the Ephesians in chapter two, as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. And then he describes what that was like. And in verse four, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. Even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages he might show us the incomparable riches of his grace. Expressed in his kindness to us. In Christ Jesus. In his autobiography, CS Lewis describes God's pursuit of him. with vivid imagery. For instance, it was like an angler playing his fish, a cat chasing a mouse, a pack of hounds closing in on a fox, a divine chess player maneuvering his opponent into the position of conceding checkmate. Now notice that Paul didn't encounter religion. He encountered a person. He encountered Jesus. And the key point is not that Paul was once a Jewish religious leader who decided, I think I'll try a different religion. I'll switch over to a different system. No, before Paul was sincere in what he believed. He was passionate in what he believed. He believed he was following God. He believed he was doing things for God. But because he was against Jesus, he was really against God. And so the key point is that he needed to meet and encounter Jesus personally. Christianity is not a religion like other religions in the world. It's a relationship with a person, the person of Jesus. Now, a lot of people reject their notion of Christianity because they think of it, oh, it's just a set of rules. They think of it as a religion. Or they think of, you know, that maybe it's different than the religion they grew up in. So I can't, I can't do it, but it's, let's take the religious language aside and let's realize that salvation conversion is encountering a person, Jesus Christ. Number three, the third thing that happens is pride surrenders to humility. There's no coming to Christ without a measure of humility. Verse eight, 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. For three days, he was blind, and he did not eat or drink anything. Again, that's probably not gonna happen to you in your process of coming to Christ, but think about it. Think about this proud, arrogant man who was so convinced that he was right, that he was willing to put other people in jail for it, and even put other people to death for it. There's a lot of pride and a lot of arrogance. And yet, look at the humility. Now this Saul has to be led around. They have to lead him into the house. He can't even see anymore. He's humbled, he's blinded. Kent Hughes writes, though your Damascus road may be less dramatic, it is intended to have the same effect, to break our compulsive independence and arrogance and to bring us to Christ for salvation. Our Damascus roads are meant to convey our emptiness and the greatness of Christ. This whole story and that of every conversion is of Saul's being transformed from living a self-centered life to a Christ-centered life, and he was broken to get him there. Have you been broken enough to say, I'm not just going to get to heaven because I'm a good person or I'm better than most, but I'm only going to get to heaven because of the grace of God? That's what happens here. Psalm 18 verse 27, the Psalmist said to God, you save the humble, but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. Number four, it's the first step towards discovering God's purpose for living. That's why this is a miracle of mercy. Paul's on a path. He's doing one thing and yet God wants him to do something else. And salvation is the first step. Conversion is the first step. The Lord says to Ananias, you know, go, go. And this man is my chosen instrument. to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and the people of Israel. That's what God's plan for Saul's life was. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Now, you and I aren't chosen by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles in the same sense that Saul was, but we are chosen to be God's witnesses. We are chosen to give evidence to others by our life and our changed life and the grace that we show and the love that we show and the words that we say to the grace of God for them. And we read, I read earlier in part of our worship, Ephesians 2.8, I'll read it again. It is by grace you have been saved through faith. Not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Not of works so that no one can boast for. We are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus. Why? To do good works. You are saved for a purpose. You are saved to be used by God. And then lastly, why every conversion of Christ is a miracle of mercy is because as a result, everything becomes new. I mean, everything becomes new. Verse 17, Ananias went to the house and entered it and he placed his hands on Saul, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here has sent me so you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. He got up. And he was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Now, we cannot be certain whether these scales are somehow medically related. They were medically related to Saul's blindness, or that was just an image that was referring to Saul's spiritual blindness, or both. But the point is, he was a new man. He can see. Amazing grace. I once was blind, but now I see right he has and we have When we meet Christ a new relationship with God, he can see he is baptized He is filled with the Holy Spirit and that's what salvation is. It gives us a new Relationship with God if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creature. The old is gone. The new has come it gives us also new relationships with God's people That's the beautiful thing about becoming a Christian. You are not alone. You are not a Lone Ranger and you aren't designed to live the Christian life by yourself. You were placed into the church. And that's what happened to Saul here. Hananias, understandably, was incredibly hesitant to have anything to do with this murderer. But God spoke to him. And God convinced him, and he goes to him, and very tenderly, he puts his hands on him and calls him Brother Saul. This is the church in action. This is the church welcoming him. God stopped him in his tracks, but he sent Ananias there to help him move forward. Think about the beauty of it. What if, and God could have done it anyway. God could have just saved Paul, Saul, who became Paul, and he could have just sent him out and he could have just showed up and God would have worked it out, no doubt. But in his wisdom and his sovereignty, he's like, you know what? I'm gonna make it obvious to everybody that something is happening to this guy. and he's blinded, and he goes into this house, and people are wondering, what is going on? And then he speaks to Ananias, and he sends Ananias, and Ananias lays his hands on him, and all of a sudden he can see, and it's just God's, it's relationships with God's people starting right here. And Saul was not only converted in Acts 9, but this was the beginning of his integration into the community of God's people. It's all persecutes the church. He's persecuting believers. And if he persecutes believers, he's persecuting Jesus. But when Saul obeys Jesus, he joins believers. So it's a new relationship with God. It's new relationships with God's people. And it's a new message. It's a brand new message. Verse 20, at once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the son of God. Wow. The one he was against. The one he fought against. It's like. He's the son of God. And he went to the synagogues. to all the people that thought the way he used to think. All the people that believe the way he used to believe. And can you imagine, wouldn't it have been cool if you could be the little bird sitting there and watching Saul go in the synagogue the very first time? And they're like, these people had heard something happened to Saul on the way to Damascus. What's he gonna say? And he's just gonna tell, hey, Jesus is the son of God. It's a new message. And this is what happens at conversion. When God builds his church, it sees miracles of mercy as people are converted to Christ. That's what happens in Acts. That's what's still happening all over the world today. That's what we want to happen here. We want God to build his church by seeing people come to Christ. And that's the beauty of how you get to go this week. and live among people that need Christ. And you get to fellowship with other believers who are concerned with you for them. And maybe you'll get to hang out together. Maybe you and your friend have a common interest and you'll invite an unbeliever to do it with you. Or maybe you'll have a barbecue and you'll invite a couple Christian friends, but a couple of non-Christian friends that might live on the street or whatever. It's the beauty of working together. So, let's review for a second. Why is every conversion to Christ a miracle of mercy? Number one, an opponent of Christ becomes a follower. Number two, God clearly reveals himself in a personal encounter with Jesus. Number three, pride surrenders humility. Four, it is the first step towards discovering God's purpose for living. Five, as a result, everything becomes new. So ask yourselves, how can I put this into practice this week? How can I put it into practice this week? I hope you'll go away from here and you'll ask yourself that intent intentionally. I hope you'll ask now this morning, but I hope it won't stop this morning. I hope later after your home, maybe later today, maybe tonight before you put your head on the pillow, or maybe tomorrow morning. First thing when you wake up before you go through your day, thinking back to God's word, How can I put it into practice? There's a couple major areas and then you can fill in specifics for yourself. Salvation is the first major area. You have heard the good news of Jesus today. You have heard that he loves you and he died for you. Are you saved? Are you converted like Paul? Not have you seen the bright light, but have you admitted like Paul did that you need him? You need Jesus and you want to follow him. And then for those who are saved, Putting this into practice means being a witness because there are tons and tons of people in our world and in our community and in your neighborhood and maybe in your family that need this great news, that need the gospel of Jesus. Well, Saul's was pretty sudden and pretty dramatic. Let me tell you about somebody else's as I start to wrap it up. Novelist Andrew Clavin was raised in a non-practicing Jewish home and for the first 45 years of his life he lived what he described as a philosophical agnostic and a practical atheist. But he said he experienced some steps along his journey. And most people experience steps. And I think even Saul experienced steps, right? I mean, seeing Stephen, that was a step. Well, he says this, Jesus never occurred to me while I lay drunk in the gutter. And yet, looking back on my life, I see that Christ was beckoning to me at every turn. When I was a child, he was there in the kindness of a Christian babysitter and the magic of a Christmas Eve spent at her house. When I was a troubled young man contemplating suicide, he was in the voice of a Christian baseball player who gave a radio interview that inspired me to go on. And always he was in the day-to-day miracle of my marriage, a lifelong romance that taught me the reality of love and slowly led me to contemplate the greater love that was its source and inspiration. But perhaps most important for a novelist who insisted that ideas should make sense, Christ came to me in stories. And so he tells about reading some stories and one story in particular in which one of the characters, before he went to sleep at night, prayed. And this non-practicing Jewish person who described himself as a philosophical agnostic and practical atheist, he thought, I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna pray tonight before I go to sleep. So he said a long three-word prayer. This was his prayer. Thank you, God. That was it. He was thinking about the good things in his life that he attributed to God. And he says, God's response was an act of extravagant grace. I woke up the next morning and everything had changed. There was a sudden clarity and brightness to familiar faces and objects. They were alive in with meaning and with my own delight in them. And this, I called this experience the joy of my joy. And it came to me again whenever I prayed. So naturally I began to pray every day and this would lead to a full acceptance of Christ as Lord. Later he was baptized. He wrote a book called the great good thing. A secular Jew comes to faith in Christ. This is the power of the gospel. God's gospel is powerful. Paul said that himself in Romans. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes that you first and also the Gentile. Speaking about the power of Christ to redeem sinners and build his church, Russell Moore wrote in a blog a few years ago. And I'll close with this. And may this encourage you, those of you who have people in your life that aren't believers and maybe aren't given any indication that they're ever going to be a believer. Russell Moore says, the next Billy Graham might be drunk right now. The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might be currently misogynist, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist. The next Charles Spurgeon might be managing an abortion clinic today. The next Mother Teresa might be a heroin-addicted porn star this week. The next Augustine of Hippo might be a sexually promiscuous cult member right now just like, come to think of it, the first Augustine of Hippo was. But the Spirit of God can turn all that around and seems to delight to do so. The new birth doesn't just transform lives, creating repentance and faith, it also provides new leadership to the church. and fulfills God's promise to gift his church with everything needed for her onward march through space and time. That's what acts nine is about. God is saving someone and he's gifting the church with new leadership and he wants to do it today. Because when God builds his church, it sees miracles of mercy as people are converted to Christ. Let's bow our heads, please. Thanks again for joining us today from Harvest Community Church. This podcast is also available on our website HarvestCharlotte.com. Please go there if you want to send a question or comment, learn more about our ministries, or find out how you can donate to support the podcast.