Acts 9:1-31 | Saul

Zach Cunningham begins the second part of our series through the book of Acts. 

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Acts 9 is where we're gonna be. If you have a Bible, go ahead and get to the book of Acts. Hey, if you're new here, I especially want to say thank you for joining us. The best way you can get connected is filling out that little form, or you can join us after the service for Intro to King's Lunch. We'll talk more about it later. Acts chapter 9 is where we're gonna be. And as you're turning there, maybe a question to start our time together this morning. Have you guys ever met someone who is super gullible? Like maybe it's you or the person sitting next to you, like they just believe anything they see online. It doesn't matter what it is. Or can you remember your last gullible moment? Um, I like to think myself not as a gullible person, like reasonable, examine the facts or whatever, like we off offer stuff. I'll never forget it. I think the most gullible thing I'd ever believed, the most insane thing my mom ever told me when I was eight, okay, when I was young, around eight years old, I started to have these experiences where I would see things and uh like not demons, but like I would start, like I'd have these things where like, no, I'd live my life and something would happen, and it's like, dude, I have seen this before. Like I like in this moment, like I'd live my life, and then something would happen, like a clip playing in my head, and I had no concept for deja vu. And so I go to my mom and I'm like, mom, you're not gonna believe this. I think I have superpowers, okay? And I'm like, seeing the future. And my mom, again, she's like, I don't know why she told me this to this day. She's like, oh yeah, it it could be deja vu, or, and then she tells me this like thing about our history. She said, or uh, your great-great, great, great, you know, great-grandfather, George Burroughs, uh, lived in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s. And uh, yeah, you guys know how it in Salem, a witch trial. So, anyways, George was a pastor, like, and they thought he was a witch. And so they're like about to burn him at the stake. And apparently he, like legend has it, he says the Lord's Prayer, which apparently a witch couldn't do back then. And my, you know, Papa George, he does it. And they burn him anyways, okay? They kill him. So my mom, she tells me the story about our family, and she's like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It could be deja vu, or some of that witch stuff could have rubbed off on you, and you actually do have superpowers. And guys, I believed her from that moment. Like, I lived years, decades of my life believing this, like uh like I was Harry Potter, like you're a wizard, Harry. Like my whole life. I thought I had powers. Silly stuff I know, but I was eight, okay, and I'm I was gullible. And my point is this in the same way I believe the silly lie about witchcraft, as humans, it is easy for us to believe things that aren't true. All of us, even the most astute people in this room, at times are gullible people prone to believe lies. And it's not hard, you know, you look at the culture, you turn on the news to see, yeah, for sure, there are lies running rampant in our culture, right? You can see all kinds of lies being believed and embraced and celebrated, whether it's lies about humanity, like where we came from, where we're going, lies about the body, humanity, babies, marriage, gender, lies about who we are, but ultimately lies about who God is. And as a church, we have a role to play here, right? Salt of the earth, light of the world, to speak plainly about lies, to be the pillar of truth is what the Bible says. We ought to confront lies in the culture, but also, and this is the harder part, we must confront lies in our own hearts. Because lies don't just exist out there, they exist in here. And it would be good for us to admit in humility that we too are gullible to lies, that while, yes, we have truth on our side, the scriptures, the spirit of truth, in moments of weakness or ignorance, whether we believe them for a day, a week, a year, or even just a moment of temptation, we too can believe lies. In fact, Genesis 3 shows us that part of what it means to live as a human in this fallen world is to be deceived, to sometimes believe things that aren't true. And today, I'm thankful for Acts chapter 9, because today we're gonna look at the conversion of a man named Saul. It's kind of massive hinge point in the book of Acts and arguably world history, but also in this story that we're gonna read this morning, I think it exposes some of the lies that people, maybe even in this room, might be believing about God and their own story. That this morning I'd like to kindly point at and dispel. Sound good? Okay, we're looking at three lies in Acts chapter 9 and about 30 verses. Let's jump in. We're gonna meet the main character in verse 1. If you got it, say got it. Okay, this is Acts 9. We're back. Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Okay, we learn a lot about our guy here, his name, but also his heart, his enemies, and his mission. Okay, his name is Saul, and it's actually not the first time we've met Saul, which might make a decent case for a decent recap of the book of Acts so far, since it's been a while. Okay, think about the book of Acts up to this point. Okay, long story short, Jesus leaves, the Spirit comes, and the church is born. And we're in Jerusalem, things are bustling, thousands are getting saved, people are getting healed. Okay, a lot is going on in the in the disciples' lives, there's some persecution, and if you had a nickel for every time Peter went to prison and miraculously got out so far, you'd have two nickels, which is not a lot, but it's weird that you have two this far. Okay, the church is gonna face all kinds of struggles, both inside the church and outside. And up until this point so far, they stand strong, they problem solve, they endure until a man named Stephen gets up. And you guys know the story? Our guy Stephen, full of grace, power, truth, and wisdom, stands up and he says one of the most indicting sermons recorded in the Bible, where he calls the Jews stiff-necked and obstinate people. And what happens next? It says the Jews literally cover their ears and start screaming as loud as they can, like a child throwing a tantrum, and they run, they grab Stephen and they stone Stephen to death. And then immediately, Luke, the author of this book, throws in this cut scene, this one-liner, this name drop in Acts 8, verse 1, where it says this, right after that scene, it says, Saul agreed with putting him to death. And so Saul, the guy we just read in chapter 9, is here in chapter 8, and he's there, and he's not an innocent bystander, he's an active participant. Okay, it says three verses earlier that he's holding the jackets of the dudes who are killing Stephen. Okay, and then you look forward to our text, and and this is not his, this is this may be his first rodeo, but it's not gonna be his last, okay. In fact, the image we get in our text is Saul as a bull or like a killer pig. Okay, look at the language of our text. It says, now Saul, verse 1 of chapter 9, now Saul was still breathing threats and murder. What does it mean he's breathing threats? We breathe oxygen, he's breathing threats. What is that, what gives here? Well, the idea is that threats and violence against Christians is not just something Saul talks about. It's the air he breathes. It fills his lungs, it animates him. Like all of his passion is coming from this. And that word that Luke uses for breathe here, it's animalistic. It's a word used to describe the snort of a wild beast before it attacks. Okay, like a bull at the North Texas fair and rodeo about to charge a clown. That's the picture of Saul here. And he's so intense about this hatred towards Christians that what does he do? It says he goes to the high priest and he gets permission to carry out his mission in Damascus. Okay, Damascus is one of the oldest cities on the planet. Abraham knew about Damascus. It's like seven days' journey away. Like, this is not one exit over. Saul's willing to go 150 miles to go persecute Christians, or here it calls them people who belong to the way, which is the early name for Christians. Also the name of our church plant in Austin, Texas, launching this fall, which is a callback to this verse, which is a call back to John 14, 6, where Jesus says, What? I am the way, the truth, and the life, which shows us that from the beginning, Christianity, it wasn't a set of beliefs to ascend to, it was a way of life, a life-changing way of life to follow. And so Saul's on his way to confront Christians, and he gets confronted. Look at verse 3. As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, he's almost there, a light from heaven suddenly flashes around him. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who are you, Lord? Saul said. But get up and go into the city, and you're going to be told what you must do. And the men who were traveling with them stood speechless, because they heard the sound, but they didn't see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. And so they took him by the hand, led him into Damascus, and he was unable to see for three days. He didn't eat or drink. Okay, so zoom out. It's hard to overstate the importance of this moment. Saul gets close to Damascus, and then bam, this light from heaven flashes like a bolt of lightning. Okay, all my Midwestern friends who moved here to plant the church, they're always so amazed at the lightning storms in Denton. Okay, Denton is constantly lit up bright with lightning, but make no mistake, it wouldn't have been as bright as the lightning on that day in Damascus. Okay, it knocks Saul off of his feet. And then he hears a voice saying, This, look what it says. Saul saw, okay, a double knock in the Bible. That only happens a few times in the scriptures where a name is mentioned twice. Every single time it's significant. Saul saw, why are you persecuting me? You know, Saul, he's blinded and confused. He's not sure exactly who it is, but he does know he deserves honor. And so what does he say? He says, Who are you, Lord? Or who are you, Master, Lord? And then this incredible response. He says, I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting you, persecuting. And what's incredible about this moment is not just who's saying it, namely the risen Jesus Christ who left in Acts 1, now back, full of glory and power, the one name that Saul would have hated more than any other name, Jesus, is standing there. But what does he say? It says, Why are you persecuting me? Okay, that could be an entire sermon right there, and maybe an encouragement to the believer. What do we learn about that right there? That Jesus is so identified with his people, with us, that when people are persecuting them, we are so united to Christ, so wrapped up in Christ, it's as if they're persecuting Jesus. To persecute us is to persecute him. And so our brothers and sisters around the world in Morocco or China or Minneapolis getting persecuted for their faith, they are not alone. They are united to Christ. And so all this is happening, and Saul's boys, they don't see anything, they're freaking out. But Saul, he gets on his feet, but his eyes don't work. Do you see that? Look at that incredible line in verse 8. Though his eyes were open, he could see nothing, which is an apt description for the world that we're living in, and maybe our lives before Jesus, right? Eyes open but spiritually blind, able to see what's in front of us, but not able to see what's ultimately true. Now, there's a lot of observations we can draw from the scene so far, but I want to pause and point out the most obvious one. Because it leads us to the first lie that people believe, and maybe even in this room, and it has to do with this question. What type of person does Jesus come for? Like, does Jesus have a type, you know, like in dating? Like, is there a certain kind of person that Jesus is after? Well, here in the pursuit and the salvation of a guy like Saul, it exposes the first lie that some of us believe, and it's this that my my life and my story is too messy. That my story's too messy. Like I meet people all the time, almost every week, who tell me something like this: like, yes, Jesus saves people, but he doesn't save people like me. And there's this underlying belief that God wants people with cleaner past, better families, less baggage, fewer regrets, that Jesus keeps his distance from certain kinds of people. But guys, the story of Saul blows that apart. Like if anybody's story is too messy, isn't it? Saul's dude wasn't just confused, he was violent. He wasn't just far from Jesus, no, he was fighting Jesus. And yet Jesus still shows up. What shows us something about the heart of Jesus that's good for us to remember this morning and something true about the gospel, and it's this that the gospel knows no barriers. Like there's no barrier in front of the Lord from saving the people he wants. Like if the mess of Saul doesn't keep Jesus away, and if the mess of Zach doesn't keep Jesus away, neither does yours. Like whatever category that you and I can make of people who are too far gone from the grace of Jesus, like the murderer, the serial adulterer, the pagan witch doctor, the Muslim Imam, the director of Planned Parenthood, the person who sells their body online, the dude in the locker room bragging about his body count, the dude in the cubicle who gets wasted every weekend. Guys, there's not a person, whoever we try to put outside the reach of God's grace, Saul's story tells us nobody is outside the reach of God's grace. Your life and your story, it's not too messy. In fact, if you just think about it for just a moment, the moment that you say, Zach, my sin is too heavy, you're also saying God's hand is too weak. And friends, can I tell you, his arm is not too short to save. He can save anybody in this world. There is more grace in him than there is sin in you. And the story of Saul getting knocked off his feet, it ought to knock you off your feet. Because yes, you might have some dark days behind you, but your future, like Saul's, can be as bright as lightning. God can transform your life, like he's done with Saul, and like he's done with a lot of people in this room. Because the ground is level at the foot of the cross. We all come level to the cross, empty-handed. No story is too messy. Now let's keep going because we can learn a little bit more about Saul's conversion that I want you to see. Go back, let's start in verse 10. Jesus shows up to Saul and says, Go. And verse 10. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. Here I am, Lord, he replied. Get up and go to the street called straight, the Lord said to him, To the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he's praying there. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. Verse 13, Lord, Ananias answered, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and he has the authority here from the chief priest to rest all of us who call on your name. Okay, I love this. The Lord tells Ananias, his servant, like, hey, go into the city, say hi to Saul. And Ananias' response is like, Lord, I'd do anything for you. But like, have you heard about this guy? Like, I'm not sure word has traveled to you yet, but this guy's Saul, like, he's a bad dude. He's hurting a lot of people, he's done a lot of damage. Like, are you sure? Verse 15. But the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is my chosen instrument. I would underline chosen there. To take my name to the Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. This verse. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Okay, which is intense. And you're gonna see how the story of Saul plays out. Okay, he goes from causing other people suffering to happily suffering for the cause of Christ. God uses suffering in his life to advance the kingdom and to make Saul more like Jesus. Verse 17, here's what happens next. Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Verse 18. At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. And then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. Okay, that's an incredible scene here. Okay, the imagery that Luke writes is powerful. He doesn't just get his physical eyesight back, but it says something like scales fell from his eyes. Now I'm not sure what that looked like. Okay, like fish scales or like crusty pink eye stuff. Like whatever happens here, Saul can see, but not just physically. Like for the first time in his life, Saul can truly see. And not just Ananias in front of him, not just Damascus around him, he can see Jesus for who he is. The man who thought he could see everything realizes he was blind all along. Okay, which just step out of the story. This is just an epic conversion here, is it not? Like, think about being Saul's neighbor, or like getting coffee with Saul, and like, hey, Saul, like tell me your testimony, your story. And bro just sits his coffee and is like, yeah, Jesus showed up in lightning. Okay, knocked me off my feet. I was blind for three days, and then Ananias' guy laid hands on me and I could see, and scales were all over the floor. Like, that's an intense story here. And there's this instinct, I think, if anything like me, in reading the story. And maybe you hear like other intense transformations of people's lives as they follow Jesus. And we can do this thing, it's so easy to do this, where you start to compare their story with your own story. And you might get to this weird spot where you're like, your story is not as crazy or as like intense, and you start to get insecure and you think that your story is kind of lame, or your story is boring. And I actually understand the instinct, but underneath that thought are some false beliefs that lead us to our second lie. Number one, that my story is too messy, but number two, for the believers in the room, that my story is too boring. Like it's boring. Like it's alright. Like these people love Jesus, they love the grace of God, but as I think about their story, and especially in light of other people, you think your story's boring. You're like, Zach, I grew up in church, my parents are believers, I heard the story of Jesus, and I got saved, and that's it. And in a sense, it's very short and simple, right? And it's boring, in a sense, you know, boring. Like, may all the kids and king's kids right now have that same story. In a sense, it's boring, but guys, make no mistake, there is no boring testimony. Nobody has a boring story. And so it'd be a good question to remind you like, can you remember? This would be good for us to think about. Can you remember the last time you were absolutely blown away at your own conversion? Like that you're a Christian today? Like that you sit here in love with Jesus singing songs to him from a pure heart? When's the last time you were absolutely floored that you're sitting here today a Christian? Because if you don't feel blown away, like if you know any ounce of the Bible and any ounce of the gospel, you ought to be floored and blown away that the God of the universe loves you. And if you need help this morning, if you're like, Zach, I'm a Christian, but I haven't felt that excited that recently, like, I want to help. My guess is you're probably misunderstanding one of two things. Number one, the magnitude of your salvation, and number two, the source of your salvation. There's probably a misunderstanding here. First, the magnitude. If you read the Bible, you have to understand this as it talks about your salvation, it doesn't use boring or lame ideas to describe what happened to you. No, the Bible uses massive, grandiose, extreme language to describe the moment of your salvation. Language like this. You were dead in your trespasses and sins and have been made alive in Jesus Christ. Language like this. You have been born again to a living hope. Guys, if you read the Bible, you're gonna understand. You weren't just stumbling forward in sin, you were a slave to it. You were an enemy of God, you were under condemnation, and you were a child of wrath, but now you've been adopted into the family of God. And friends, listen, that is not boring. You may not have seen a flash of lightning or fell down to the floor or lost your eyesight, and you may not be able to remember the exact moment that you were converted, but make no mistake, if you love Jesus today, you have gone from death to life. Your story is a miracle. Scales have fallen off your eyes. Your life is a miracle. And if you need help telling your testimony in a way that's not boring, try using the language of the Bible to describe it. Like when you're sharing your testimony with other people, use the language of the scriptures, it will add the weight and the wonder of what's actually happened to you. So that's the first mistake. Understanding the magnitude, but the second is the source of our salvation. Go back to the text. You know, the question I have from our text is this why did Saul become a Christian? Like, why does he start following Jesus? Like, is it because he was wise? Is it because he was open spiritually? Like he was a seeker. Was it because he examined all the evidence and weighed it and made the decision freely to choose to follow Jesus? No. That's not what happened here. Guys, Saul wasn't seeking Jesus. He was running in the opposite direction. And so what happened? Answer? Jesus got him. Or better yet, to use the language of the text. Jesus chose him. Literally says his chosen instrument. Guys, make no mistake. Before Saul chose Jesus, Jesus chose Saul here. Like I love to ask couples who made the first move, like slit and DMs, you ask her out. Like, guys, make no mistake. When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, he made the first move here. It's obvious. What does Jesus do with Saul? He confronts him, he blinds them, then he opens his eyes and he transforms his heart. And Christian, if you're sitting here this morning in love with Jesus, biblically, that is your story too. You didn't make yourself alive. You didn't open your own eyes. You want to know why you're a Christian today? Because God got you. And his grace is set on you. He chose you, the Bible says, before the foundation of the world. And guys, that ain't boring. That is exhilarating. Our story is like Saul's. We were on the road to sin and death and destruction, but Jesus showed up. And I don't care the context of your salvation, whether you were sitting on the front row at age seven and you got saved like me, or whether you got saved in prison, if you know Jesus today, God in his sovereignty and freedom chose you before the foundation of the world. And guys, that is not boring. Yes, from your own perspective, you may have made a decision for Jesus and came forward, but guys, he made the decision first. That is the Bible here. And if that's true, no story is a boring story. No one comes to the Father or to the Son unless the Father draws him. And that's amazing. And so if you're sitting here a believer, that should floor you and make you very excited. Of course there's complexity. But God in his freedom has chosen to save sinners like us, and no story is boring in the kingdom of God. Now let's finish because you're going to notice something very quickly. Grace doesn't just save Saul, it sends him on the road. Look at verse 20. Look what happens next, verse 20. Immediately, it says, he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues. He is the Son of God. Okay, it says immediately, like right away. Dude didn't waste five minutes. He goes straight to Damascus. Guys, think about this. To the city where he was on the way to persecute Christians. He's now in the same city, standing in a synagogue, proclaiming that Jesus is the Lord. And everybody starts freaking out, of course, because he's well known. Look at verse 21. All who heard him were astounded. And they said this. Ain't this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name? And they and now he's came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priest? They're saying this, like, nah, ain't this the dude who was hating on Jesus? Like, didn't he kill Christians in Jerusalem now he's preaching? Like, this is what a this is what a life changed looks like, is it not? Like your life should make people ask questions. Like, isn't that the man who used to yell at his kids at the baseball game? Like, ain't that the girl who was gossiping and he's anxious all the time? Isn't that the dude who is living for himself? A life changed by Jesus ought to make people ask this question. That's the point here. But I want you to notice something as we close. The primary way that Saul drew attention to himself, it wasn't just by people looking at his life. What does it say? He was speaking, by proclaiming, by talking about Jesus. And you know, there's something beautiful about the zeal of Saul here and the zeal of new believers in our church, who maybe they don't know all the answers. Like they've not attended an evangelism class, they don't have a seminary degree, like they don't know all the answers, but you know what they do know? I was dead and now I live. I was blind and now I see. And we see it in Saul's life, right? In verse 20. And if you look down in verse 28, it says he's speaking again. You look in verse 29, it says he's speaking and conversing and debating about Jesus. What does Saul do? He tells his story. And even when other believers don't believe it, it doesn't stop them from talking about Jesus. And guys, that's a final word for us this morning. Especially for those of us who have been following Jesus for a while. There is a third lie that gets exposed here, and it's the lie that my story isn't worth telling. Like God's not going to use me. God can't use my story. Like there's this lie. Like, I can't tell my story. I can't speak about Jesus. I'm not qualified enough. I'm not smart enough. I'm not eloquent enough. And this lie, it can creep in a church where you think the mission of God is reserved for other people, high-up people, like that's the pastor's job. That's not my job. But guys, that's not what we see here with Saul. He didn't wait five minutes before he started talking about Jesus. He didn't go to seminary, he didn't have all his questions answered. Here's what he knew Jesus is alive, and Jesus has changed my life. And guys, if you're a believer, the heart of Saul's story is also your story. And our prayer is that we would be a church that can't stop speaking of what we have seen and heard. You know, it's interesting back in verse 15, God calls Saul his chosen instrument to take his name to the Gentiles. You see that? And kings and stuff. And you start to realize, and especially as we go forward in Acts, Saul's life was not random. Like every factor of Saul's life, like his family wasn't random, his education wasn't random, like his knowledge of the scriptures, his Roman citizenship, his ability to move between the Gentile and Jewish culture. None of this was random. And you start to learn a truth here that God was sovereign over Saul's story, his entire story. And he had been preparing and positioning Saul to be effective in carrying the name of Jesus to the people around him. And I think there's enough evidence biblically that the same is true for us, that the boundary lines for us have been marked. Here's what I mean: the family that you came from, it's not random. The town you grew up in, it's not random. The jobs that you've had, the people you live next to, the experiences that you've had, both the good and the bad, the questions you've wrestled with, the suffering you've endured. God has so orchestrated your story to reach the people in your life. If we learn anything about the story of Saul, it's that God is intentional. He's intentional in saving you, in placing you, and in sending you. And you never know what God is up to. Cheering the gospel, seeing what God might do. I'll close. This past week I went to a funeral of a man I've never met. And I don't go to a lot of funerals in our church. I do a lot of weddings, but this is unique going to a funeral, and it's very unique going to a funeral of a guy you've never met. And like, I don't know any of the people there. It's like extended family, we're coming to love. And I'm sitting there, and this guy gets up, and I like he starts talking about the guy who passed away. And then, like, you know, a little bit in the story, he starts tearing up as he describes this man's faith in Jesus and the impact that this man had on him. And then they flashed a picture of his baptism after he got saved at 68 years old. Like it's like an old man baptizing another old man. You know, I'm not trying to insult anyone. But, anyways, I'm sitting there, bro, I'm just thinking, good night. God came to Jesus at 68, and then the impact he had after that on this man, and it reminded me of two things. It's never too late to start sharing the gospel. And it's never too late to come to Jesus. And so, guys, be motivated today, whether it's college students down the road or the 68-year-old man next to you who's angry and bitter and needs hope. Would we be a church that brings the gospel to that person? And to that end, let me pray for us that God would do that in power. Lord, we come and pray at the end of sermons because we're always motivated. But God, it doesn't matter how motivated we are to share the gospel, if you don't move in the hearts of sinners and cause them to be born again, if the spirit does not blow, nothing of power of substance comes. And so, God in heaven, would you move mindedly and would your spirit move on this city? Would you cause dead bones to come alive? Especially on the campus of UNT, Texas Women's, and NCTC. God, would you this fall, would we just be blown away at the baptism tank here and student after student sharing their testimony that they've been born again, that they were dead, blind, and far from you, but you have made them alive. God, would you do it? We confess we can't do it without you. And you gotta do something in our own hearts, Lord, when we start to believe lies that our story is so messy, it's poor, it's not worth telling. You gotta take those lies and remove them as far as the east is from the west. And today, would we live and shine like stars in this crooked generation? You gotta do something great at King's Church. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.