SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Sermons from the Way Church KC, a community of listening saints in Kansas City, following the way of Jesus and pushing back darkness together.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody, it's good to see your beautiful faces.
SPEAKER_01: If you can stand with me for the scripture reading today, we are back in Acts.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to meet chapter 9, verses 1 through 19.
SPEAKER_01: The word of the Lord says, But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_01: Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
SPEAKER_01: And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Who are you, Lord?
SPEAKER_01: And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
SPEAKER_01: But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.
SPEAKER_01: The men who were trapping with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
SPEAKER_01: Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were open, he saw nothing.
SPEAKER_01: So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
SPEAKER_01: And for three days he went without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
SPEAKER_01: Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Aeneas, the Lord said to him in a vision, Anias, and he said, Here I am, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And the Lord said to him, Rise and go to the street called Strait, and at the house of Judas, look for a man of Taurus named Saul.
SPEAKER_01: For behold, he is praying, and he has seen in the vision and main a man named Aeneas, and come and lay hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.
SPEAKER_01: But Anias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil has he done to your saints at Jerusalem?
SPEAKER_01: And here he was with authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name.
SPEAKER_01: But the Lord said to him, Go, for he has chosen an instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.
SPEAKER_01: So Nias departed and entered the house, and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.
SPEAKER_01: Then he rose and was baptized, and taking food, and he was strengthened.
SPEAKER_01: This is the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: You may be seated.
SPEAKER_03: Amen, amen.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Well, welcome everyone to the Way Church KC.
SPEAKER_03: Duane, you want your Bible?
SPEAKER_03: It's a good book right there.
SPEAKER_03: Well, welcome everyone to the Way Church KC.
SPEAKER_03: My name is Zach Schimmer.
SPEAKER_03: If we haven't gotten the pleasure to meet him, I'm one of the pastors here.
SPEAKER_03: And we're a new church plant.
SPEAKER_03: We've been rocking and rolling a little under two years now.
SPEAKER_03: And we exist to follow the way of Jesus and push back darkness together.
SPEAKER_03: You know what I say often, and so a lot of you might be tired of me saying this, like what I believe is that the reason people are coming here to the Waychurch isn't because of the worship, although Ashen is an anointed worship leader.
SPEAKER_03: I think we can all agree on that.
SPEAKER_03: It's not because of the sermon, although we are going to faithfully preach God's word each and every week.
SPEAKER_03: What I believe is that people are coming and staying at the Waychurch KC because of the family that God is building.
SPEAKER_03: It's been an incredible two years almost.
SPEAKER_03: Just people there for each other through the mountaintop moments, through the highs of life, and there to lean on each other in the valley as well.
SPEAKER_03: I think we can all relate to that.
SPEAKER_03: We've a lot of us have been in a valley at some point in time and have been able to lean on this church family.
SPEAKER_03: And I believe that's what the local church is and should be about.
SPEAKER_03: You know, we may we may not have all of the bells and whistles, we may not have the fancy lights and fog machine, but we are a simple local church who is following the way of Jesus and pushing back darkness together.
SPEAKER_03: So if you're new here, welcome.
SPEAKER_03: We do have a gift for you.
SPEAKER_03: If you want to come find me after service, I'll hook you up with uh a little gift.
SPEAKER_03: It just says, hey, we we appreciate you coming and we'd love for you to be a part of our church family.
SPEAKER_03: Um today, this morning, we're jumping back into the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_03: Um we've been walking verse by verse through the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_03: Um, we took a little break, a little pause as we had our four-week Advent series and then our Christmas candlelight service, which by the way, was who thought Christmas candlelight service was such a sweet time?
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_03: It was a really sweet time of just uh remembering the birth of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: Um but today we're jumping back in our Acts series, which I'm stoked about.
SPEAKER_03: I love the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_03: Um this sermon series is entitled Living by the Spirit and Following the Way.
SPEAKER_03: Um just to give you a little background, we we've covered some ground thus far in Acts.
SPEAKER_03: Um, if you've got your Bible, you can open it to Acts 9.
SPEAKER_03: If you don't have a Bible, we got some right outside of the sanctuary doors that we would love to give you, to have, to keep, to mark up, to take notes in, all that fun stuff.
SPEAKER_03: Like I said, that can be found just right outside of the sanctuary doors.
SPEAKER_03: But while you're turning to Acts 9, let me give you a little recap.
SPEAKER_03: In the opening chapters of Acts, we've seen the risen Jesus Christ pour out the Holy Spirit and form a new people who live as his witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_03: Kind of our thematic verse in Acts was Acts 1.8, which reads, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_03: So the first eight chapters of Acts dealt with the early church in Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_03: And then as we transition through Acts 8, we begin to see the church spread to the Judea and Samaria.
SPEAKER_03: And eventually where it's going is to the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_03: We watch the gospel advance with power, producing bold proclamation, deep community, and costly obedience.
SPEAKER_03: We saw the first Christian martyr in Stephen as he was killed for his faith.
SPEAKER_03: That is costly obedience.
SPEAKER_03: As opposition increases, the Spirit does not retreat, but the Holy Spirit propels the mission forward.
SPEAKER_03: What that shows us is that suffering cannot stop the purposes of God.
SPEAKER_03: You see suffering throughout the book of Acts, you see persecution throughout the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_03: But what we ultimately see is the church, is the kingdom, is Christ prevail and continue to push his mission forward.
SPEAKER_03: Now we dive into Acts chapter 9, and what we see is that the same spirit who's been present throughout Acts thus far, we see that same spirit confronting a persecutor.
SPEAKER_03: A guy named Saul.
SPEAKER_03: If you remember, we kind of left off on a cliffhanger.
SPEAKER_03: We have this guy, Saul, who's breathing threats and violence against the church, and then we pause for our advent series.
SPEAKER_03: And if you haven't ever read the book of Acts, it's like, hey, what's gonna happen with this Saul dude?
SPEAKER_03: Well, I think it's what we would least expect.
SPEAKER_03: We see this Saul transformed.
SPEAKER_03: And this reminds us that the way of Jesus moves forward by grace, not by human strength.
SPEAKER_03: What we see today is a radical transformation story.
SPEAKER_03: Who here loves a good transformation story?
SPEAKER_03: A lot of us, amen.
SPEAKER_03: You see the before and after pictures, or you have that favorite movie of yours where it's like a comeback narrative.
SPEAKER_03: Um you see the redemption arcs, like all of that.
SPEAKER_03: That stuff really like gets our juices flowing.
SPEAKER_03: But I think if we're honest with ourselves, I think there's an uncomfortable truth that we must confront.
SPEAKER_03: Like a lot of times we want transformation for other people that oh, they need it, they need that transformation, but not us.
SPEAKER_03: Not ourselves.
SPEAKER_03: We're like, hey, I'm all good.
SPEAKER_03: I'm good living just how I am.
SPEAKER_03: They need some help, they need God's grace, but not me.
SPEAKER_03: We want God to fix them while leaving us mostly intact.
SPEAKER_03: And I think that Acts chapter 9 confronts us with a transformation that no one was praying for and no one saw coming.
SPEAKER_03: Like, like, really think about it, family.
SPEAKER_03: No one in the early church had Saul of Tarshish on their prayer list to be a future leader of the church.
SPEAKER_03: They were praying for safety from him, right?
SPEAKER_03: They weren't praying for salvation for him.
SPEAKER_03: And yet, and yet, this passage shows us that the spirit of God is not limited by our categories, by our fears, by our past, by who we think deserves God's grace.
SPEAKER_03: No, the Spirit of God goes where he wants.
SPEAKER_03: Here's our big idea this morning as we dig in.
SPEAKER_03: An encounter with the risen Christ by the power of the Spirit transforms enemies into servants and sends ordinary believers into God's extraordinary mission.
SPEAKER_03: Amen.
SPEAKER_03: With that, there are three truths from Acts 9, 1 through 19 that we're going to pull out of.
SPEAKER_03: First, we see Saul resisting the way.
SPEAKER_03: Then we see him be interrupted by grace.
SPEAKER_03: And then thirdly, he's reoriented for the mission.
SPEAKER_03: I'll pray and then let's dig in.
SPEAKER_03: Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here today.
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for being present in our church, Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for the work that you're doing in and through us, Lord.
SPEAKER_03: God, I pray that 2026 is a year of you doing deep heartwork, of our lives being transformed by your grace, of our lives being marked by that of radical transformation that can only come through an encounter with the Holy Spirit through relationship with Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_03: God, would you move me out of the way today as I preach your word, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: Would you make your words be made clear, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: Holy Spirit, you are welcome in this place.
SPEAKER_03: Would you guide, would you guard, would you direct us, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: We love you and we praise you.
SPEAKER_03: And all God's people said, Amen, amen.
SPEAKER_03: So point number one this morning is resisting the way.
SPEAKER_03: Resisting the way.
SPEAKER_03: Acts chapter 9, verses 1 through 6, the word says, But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
SPEAKER_03: Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
SPEAKER_03: And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
SPEAKER_03: And he said, Who are you, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
SPEAKER_03: But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.
SPEAKER_03: So the author Luke, he's intentionally picking up where Acts chapter 8, verse 3 left off.
SPEAKER_03: Acts 8, 3 says, But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
SPEAKER_03: So not much has changed.
SPEAKER_03: Saul is still ravaging the church.
SPEAKER_03: He is still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, against the followers of the way.
SPEAKER_03: Saul has not cooled down.
SPEAKER_03: In fact, his threats and actions have intensified.
SPEAKER_03: This sort of persecution is nothing small, it's nothing minor, it's not insignificant.
SPEAKER_03: Saul's persecution is widespread.
SPEAKER_03: It's active, and it's what we see is it's deeply feared by the disciples and by the early church.
SPEAKER_03: And this this phrase that we read at the beginning of Acts 9, breathing threats and murder, it's a vivid picture that the author gives us.
SPEAKER_03: But it's important for us to see that beyond it just being a vivid picture, it serves a theological purpose that Luke intends for us to see.
SPEAKER_03: What we see is that Saul is exhaling violence against the early church.
SPEAKER_03: He's breathing violence, he's breathing threats against the early church.
SPEAKER_03: And as we look back at Acts, the Holy Spirit is breathing life into the church.
SPEAKER_03: Saul's breath, Saul's exhalation, stands in distinct contrast to that of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_03: One brings chaos, the other brings new creation.
SPEAKER_03: So after breathing these threats in violence, Saul goes and appeals to the high priest.
SPEAKER_03: We see that Saul's authority for the persecution that he's bringing about, it comes from the high priest.
SPEAKER_03: He's not a rogue enemy of the church.
SPEAKER_03: No, the persecution that he's bringing about is sanctioned by the leaders of the Jewish council.
SPEAKER_03: Saul, he's authorized to arrest men and women alike.
SPEAKER_03: And this, us seeing men and women here, it's not an insignificant detail.
SPEAKER_03: The author is including casually.
SPEAKER_03: No, he's showing the audience that his persecution is comprehensive, that no one is overlooked, that if you were a follower of Jesus Christ during this time, you are at risk of brutal persecution.
SPEAKER_03: It's also here that we see the early church introduced with a new name, and it's where our church gets the name, the way.
SPEAKER_03: And this is what the early Christians referred to themselves as.
SPEAKER_03: We're not a this or that church.
SPEAKER_03: No, we're a Book of Acts church.
SPEAKER_03: We're a followers of the way of Jesus, sort of church.
SPEAKER_03: The early church, the early Christians weren't known as Christians.
SPEAKER_03: They were simply known in the Bible as followers of the way.
SPEAKER_03: So that's what we seek to embody as a church.
SPEAKER_03: And just to give you a little context behind this, it's this new name, it's not like just a nickname, it's not just our church name.
SPEAKER_03: This name is loaded with new Exodus imagery.
SPEAKER_03: In Isaiah 40, which we we looked at during our Advent sermon series, God promises to make a way through the wilderness.
SPEAKER_03: John the Baptist quotes that at the beginning of the Gospels.
SPEAKER_03: So this way is to lead God's people out of exile and into restoration and into redemption.
SPEAKER_03: As we look at the life of Saul, this is an incredible irony.
SPEAKER_03: Saul believes that he is defending the true Israel.
SPEAKER_03: But in reality, what's happening is he is attempting to block the new exodus of God's people.
SPEAKER_03: So Saul's life, Saul's story, Saul's persecution, it reminds us that religious zeal is not the same thing as spiritual life.
SPEAKER_03: You can be sincere, you can be like deeply convictional about what you're doing, you can be informed, you can be disciplined, and you can still be opposing the purposes of God.
SPEAKER_03: Before Saul's encounter on the road to Damascus, I'd be willing to bet that he thought he was doing the right thing.
SPEAKER_03: He thought that he was fulfilling what God wanted him to do.
SPEAKER_02: Very well to be true.
SPEAKER_03: Very well.
SPEAKER_03: But Saul, he's divinely interrupted.
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's a truth for us this morning.
SPEAKER_03: Some of us don't need new information.
SPEAKER_03: We don't need to be puffed up with knowledge.
SPEAKER_03: No, we need divine interruption.
SPEAKER_03: We need God to come and wreck our life right where we are.
SPEAKER_03: And I think about our cultural moment that we're in.
SPEAKER_03: Our cultural moment is a little different than what would have been going on in the time of Saul, in the time of the early church.
SPEAKER_03: In our moment, spiritual resistance, it does not often show up as hostility.
SPEAKER_03: But what what opposition, what spiritual resistance shows up as is comfort, is familiarity, is control.
SPEAKER_03: So as a church that calls itself the way, this text, it pressures us, it presses us to ask, Lana, are we following Jesus?
SPEAKER_03: Are we following the way of Jesus?
SPEAKER_03: Or are we just doing what feels familiar?
SPEAKER_03: Are we just showing up on a Sunday checking a box?
SPEAKER_03: Or are we truly living this stuff out?
SPEAKER_03: Are we open to God disrupting our assumptions about who belongs in the church, about who God uses, about how ministry should look?
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
SPEAKER_03: Saul thought he was protecting God's people.
SPEAKER_03: But Jesus shows up and tells them that he was actually opposing God himself.
SPEAKER_03: So where might Jesus be interrupting your way because it's gotten in the way of his way.
SPEAKER_03: That's a tongue twister.
SPEAKER_03: For those of you that are like first-time guests, I don't, every sermon's not about the way.
SPEAKER_03: You just came on a good Sunday where it's like, hey, this text is the first mention of our church name ever in the Bible.
SPEAKER_03: But let's let it ride, right?
SPEAKER_03: So is there an area in your life where obedience feels costly, where it feels uncomfortable, where it feels unclear?
SPEAKER_03: Is there an area where you have delayed because you want more information instead of just submitting to the God of the universe?
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
SPEAKER_03: Well, that's that's kind of what happens to Saul.
SPEAKER_03: While he is persecuting the followers of the way without warning, Jesus interrupts him.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus interrupts him on the way and says this, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
SPEAKER_03: And this moment changes everything for Saul.
SPEAKER_03: Everything.
SPEAKER_03: I think this moment right here in this these few verses is where like Saul, who will, spoiler alert, soon become Paul, where like 2 Corinthians 5.17 comes, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
SPEAKER_03: The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
SPEAKER_03: This is the old Saul dying right here.
SPEAKER_02: Lay it down.
SPEAKER_03: Galatians 2.20, I've been crucified with Christ.
SPEAKER_03: It's no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God.
SPEAKER_03: What we're reading this morning is Saul, the old Saul dying, and Paul being born.
SPEAKER_03: So Saul, he responds with a question that reveals more than he realizes.
SPEAKER_03: He says, Who are you, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: And that word Lord is crucial.
SPEAKER_03: Saul does not yet know who is speaking, but he already recognizes that the voice has authority.
SPEAKER_03: Even in his rebellion, Saul understands that the voice addressing him on the road to Damascus is sovereign, is some sort of authority figure.
SPEAKER_03: And then Jesus reveals himself.
SPEAKER_03: I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus doesn't say here, like, hey, why are you persecuting my people?
SPEAKER_03: No, he says, I'm the one you're persecuting.
SPEAKER_03: He says, Why are you persecuting me?
SPEAKER_03: And this is something we can't rush past.
SPEAKER_03: Because what it shows us is that Jesus so identifies with his people.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus so identifies with his church that to touch them is to touch him.
SPEAKER_03: To persecute them is to persecute Christ.
SPEAKER_03: To bind them is to oppose the risen Lord Himself.
SPEAKER_03: This is like union in Christ language.
SPEAKER_03: This is union in Christ theology in narrative form.
SPEAKER_03: Here's the truth for us this morning, family, that we are united with Christ, yes, in salvation.
SPEAKER_03: But not only in salvation.
SPEAKER_03: What we see is that we're united with Christ also in suffering.
SPEAKER_03: The risen Jesus is not distant from his persecuted people.
SPEAKER_03: No, he is present.
SPEAKER_03: He identifies with them, he identifies with us, and he engages with us.
SPEAKER_03: And then comes verse 6.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus gives him a command.
SPEAKER_03: But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.
SPEAKER_03: And this is striking.
SPEAKER_03: Jesus doesn't explain everything.
SPEAKER_03: He does not outline Saul's future.
SPEAKER_03: He doesn't say, hey, you're going to be an apostle and you're going to plant many churches, and half of this New Testament is going to be about written by you.
SPEAKER_03: He doesn't outline any of that.
SPEAKER_03: He just says, rise, enter the city, and then I'll tell you what to do.
SPEAKER_03: He doesn't soften the command.
SPEAKER_03: The man who came to Damascus issuing orders now receives one.
SPEAKER_03: That's God's grace in action.
SPEAKER_03: Grace does not merely forgive Saul.
SPEAKER_03: No, it reorders him, reorients him.
SPEAKER_03: Go into a direction.
SPEAKER_03: You're heading to the You're on the road to Damascus.
SPEAKER_03: Hey, turn.
SPEAKER_03: I think that's what we see.
SPEAKER_03: Like the first act of faith, it's obedient, submission.
SPEAKER_03: It's on your knees crying out, God, tell me where to go.
SPEAKER_03: Tell me what to do.
SPEAKER_03: And this struggle, it begins to turn not when Saul understands everything, but when he obeys the voice of Christ.
SPEAKER_03: So the question for us this morning is are you obeying the voice of Christ in your life?
SPEAKER_03: When Christ says go, are you going?
SPEAKER_03: When he says, go to the place I will show you, are you going?
SPEAKER_03: Are you waiting for the whole picture?
SPEAKER_03: Are you waiting for the entirety of the narrative?
SPEAKER_03: Or are you saying, okay, I'll go?
SPEAKER_03: Are you walking by faith or are you trying to walk by sight?
SPEAKER_03: So Saul's now encountered the risen Christ, but the story doesn't immediately move forward with answers or with action.
SPEAKER_03: Instead, everything kind of slows down in this narrative.
SPEAKER_03: Obedience has begun, but understanding has not yet caught up.
SPEAKER_03: So after it's starting with a struggle after Saul has been resisting the way we now see Saul stopped by the Spirit, and he's interrupted by grace.
SPEAKER_03: Point number two this morning is interrupted by grace.
SPEAKER_03: Interrupted by grace.
SPEAKER_03: Acts chapter 9, verses 7 through 12, the word says, The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one.
SPEAKER_03: Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing.
SPEAKER_03: So he let so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
SPEAKER_03: And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
SPEAKER_03: Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.
SPEAKER_03: The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he said, Here I am, Lord.
SPEAKER_03: And the Lord said to him, Rise and go to the street called straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarshish named Saul.
SPEAKER_03: For behold, he is praying.
SPEAKER_03: And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
SPEAKER_03: I really love this story.
SPEAKER_03: I just it's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_03: So Saul, he enters this story seeing clearly, or so he thinks, right?
SPEAKER_03: That he leaves blind.
SPEAKER_03: The men with Saul are witnesses, they're not like participants in what's going on.
SPEAKER_03: They hear the sound, but they do not receive the revelation.
SPEAKER_03: And so Luke's careful in his language here.
SPEAKER_03: Shows us like revelation, it's sovereign.
SPEAKER_03: The men with Saul hear the sound, but they see no one.
SPEAKER_03: Saul, he sees no one, but he hears everything.
SPEAKER_03: The same moment that blinds Saul opens his eyes.
SPEAKER_03: Isn't that crazy?
SPEAKER_03: The same moment that his eyes are blinded physically, his eyes are opened spiritually.
SPEAKER_03: This is the great reversal in this text.
SPEAKER_03: The man who thought he saw clearly is now blind.
SPEAKER_03: And his physical blindness, it exposes his spiritual blindness.
SPEAKER_03: So Luke is showing us that Saul's conversion, it's not merely gaining sight, it's not merely being healed of a physical ailment that had come on.
SPEAKER_03: It is first losing his false sight, losing his spiritual blindness.
SPEAKER_03: I think that God, he often blinds us before he enlightens us.
SPEAKER_03: He often causes us not to be able to see before he gives us a new pair of glasses.
SPEAKER_03: What happens?
SPEAKER_03: Saul has three days of darkness, three days of fasting, three days of silence, three days of prayer that follow.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe not blindness.
SPEAKER_03: But maybe.
SPEAKER_03: Saul is being undone before he can be remade.
SPEAKER_03: The old Saul must die, 2 Corinthians 5.17, before the new servant can rise.
SPEAKER_03: And this is, I think this is what grace often looks like at first.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes when we encounter God's grace, clarity isn't what immediately follows.
SPEAKER_03: I think about 11 years ago when Jesus radically encountered me when I was living in sin, when I was living in the wilderness, when I was living in the darkness.
SPEAKER_03: I met Jesus at a church service, and my life was forever changed.
SPEAKER_03: But it wasn't like immediate clarity on like, hey, this is what's next.
SPEAKER_03: It was just like, hey, my old self is dead.
SPEAKER_03: I make new.
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna walk in faith, put one foot in front of the other.
SPEAKER_03: And I think that's kind of what's happening here.
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes there's this time of disorientation, of like, man, I'm still blind, I don't know where I'm going.
SPEAKER_03: And as Saul goes to the street called straight to meet Ananias, like, think about the irony here.
SPEAKER_03: The man who was on his way to bind others, to persecute them, must now be led by the hand so that he can receive healing.
SPEAKER_03: The persecutor is rendered completely and utterly helpless.
SPEAKER_03: And I think this is another thing that grace does.
SPEAKER_03: Grace always humbles us, Jeremy, before it heals us.
SPEAKER_03: You believe that?
SPEAKER_03: You have to get humble a little bit in your journey?
SPEAKER_03: Me too, dog.
SPEAKER_03: Some of you, I think, are in a Damascus season right now.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe it's like the plans didn't work out the way you expected.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe it's a relationship change suddenly.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe the direction of your life feels unclear.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you're coming out of the darkness of addiction.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you're waiting for your like 2 Corinthians 5.17 sort of moment.
SPEAKER_03: The old me's dead, the new me's alive, sort of moment.
SPEAKER_03: That's like, hey, maybe you're waiting on Jesus to save you.
SPEAKER_03: Well, wherever you are, whatever you're walking through, know this family.
SPEAKER_03: Whatever it is.
SPEAKER_03: It does not mean that God's absent.
SPEAKER_03: What it may mean is that he is deeply present.
SPEAKER_03: It may mean that he's stripping away false confidence so real dependence on him can grow.
SPEAKER_02: That's it.
SPEAKER_03: And a lot of times I think we want to feel like, hey, God's punishing me.
SPEAKER_03: But what if God's not punishing you?
SPEAKER_03: What if he's preparing you for what he has for you?
SPEAKER_02: Oh my.
SPEAKER_03: What if this slowdown is God's mercy?
SPEAKER_02: That's true.
SPEAKER_02: That's good.
SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Lana.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 10, Luke intentionally slows the narrative down even more.
SPEAKER_03: We're introduced to this disciple named Ananias.
SPEAKER_03: He's not given a title, he's not given a position, he's not given a reputation, he doesn't have a platform, he doesn't have a resume, just a disciple.
SPEAKER_03: And I think this is something for us to take note of as well, because like God's redemptive work in history, it more moves forward not only through apostles, but through ordinary, faithful believers.
SPEAKER_03: Just like this dude, Ananias.
SPEAKER_03: God, he gives Ananias specific instructions.
SPEAKER_03: The address matters, the name matters.
SPEAKER_03: This is not a vague sort of command or a vague sort of obedience that's being asked of Ananias.
SPEAKER_03: For Ananias, this is a concrete opportunity for obedience of the living God.
SPEAKER_03: And then the plot twist for our pal Ananias.
SPEAKER_03: The most unexpected statement.
SPEAKER_03: Look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying.
SPEAKER_03: Like imagine that.
SPEAKER_03: You were to go look for the man who you and all your friends and family are in fear of.
SPEAKER_03: The very man who, to the best of your understanding, is wanting to persecute you, who wants to bind you, who wants to persecute you, who wants to have you killed for your faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: That's what's happening.
SPEAKER_03: Can you imagine how shocked Ananias would have been?
SPEAKER_03: But don't miss this.
SPEAKER_03: The first evidence of Saul's conversion is prayer.
SPEAKER_03: He's spending time in prayer.
SPEAKER_03: The violent man is now a dependent man.
SPEAKER_03: The self-assured Pharisee is now pleading with the living God.
SPEAKER_03: I'd love to hear what those prayers were.
SPEAKER_03: You know?
SPEAKER_03: Can you imagine?
SPEAKER_03: So, verse 12, it shows us that God is already at work on both sides of the obedience.
SPEAKER_03: He's working on Ananias to bring about obedience, and he's working on Saul to bring about obedience.
SPEAKER_03: So while Saul waits in blindness, Ananias waits in uncertainty.
SPEAKER_03: God is weaving together their obedience in preparation before either one fully understands what he's doing.
SPEAKER_03: So for you, what if the Spirit's slowing you down to reshape you?
SPEAKER_03: What if clarity is being withheld to produce dependence, to form dependence within you?
SPEAKER_03: God he's humbled Saul right here.
SPEAKER_03: He's stripped away his false side.
SPEAKER_03: He's brought him to a place of deep dependence.
SPEAKER_03: But the story doesn't end with Saul alone in darkness.
SPEAKER_03: God's transforming work, it always moves through community.
SPEAKER_03: So after Saul is stopped by the Spirit, after he is interrupted by grace, we now see how God sends others to step into your darkness.
SPEAKER_03: And eventually, how God eventually sends Saul himself to serve.
SPEAKER_03: Point number three, and our final point this morning is reoriented for the mission.
SPEAKER_03: Reoriented for the mission.
SPEAKER_03: Acts chapter 9, verses 13 through 19.
SPEAKER_03: The word of God says, But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name.
SPEAKER_03: But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.
SPEAKER_03: So Ananiz departed and entered the house, and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_03: And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.
SPEAKER_03: Then he was then he rose and was baptized, and taking food, he was strengthened.
SPEAKER_03: So Ananias, he first responds exactly how most of us probably would.
SPEAKER_03: He's being honest, right?
SPEAKER_03: This isn't like rebelling against the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: No, he's he's being faithfully honest before the Lord.
SPEAKER_03: And God, we we know that because God does not rebuke Ananias for his fear, but he does correct his perspective.
SPEAKER_03: He does reframe his perspective.
SPEAKER_03: Ananias, he knows Saul's past.
SPEAKER_03: But God knows Saul's future.
SPEAKER_03: Saul is now being described as a chosen instrument.
SPEAKER_03: Beginning of Acts 9, breathing threats and violence against the church.
SPEAKER_03: Middle of Acts chapter 9, he is now a chosen instrument.
SPEAKER_03: The same man who inflicted suffering will now endure it for Christ's name.
SPEAKER_03: This is sovereign grace in its clearest form.
SPEAKER_03: God doesn't wait for Saul to prove himself.
SPEAKER_03: God does not consult Ananias' comfort level.
SPEAKER_03: No, God chooses, then he sins.
SPEAKER_03: God's mission, it flows directly from his grace.
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
SPEAKER_03: And notice, if you will, the scope of Saul's calling on his life.
SPEAKER_03: He's called to the Gentiles, he's called to kings, he's called to the children of Israel.
SPEAKER_03: God's placed a mighty calling on this man's life.
SPEAKER_03: When just a few verses ago, he wanted to kill Christians.
SPEAKER_03: Saul, he tried to stop the way.
SPEAKER_03: Soon he will be smoothing the road, proclaiming Christ across the Roman world.
SPEAKER_03: Verse 16 shows us that this is no like prosperity gospel sort of thing.
SPEAKER_03: No, we see a promise of suffering for Saul.
SPEAKER_03: We see that Saul will undoubtedly suffer.
SPEAKER_03: We know if if you've read many of Paul's epistles that he suffers, right?
SPEAKER_03: He spends time in prison, he suffers.
SPEAKER_03: That's the thing.
SPEAKER_03: Like grace does not remove suffering.
SPEAKER_03: No, it gives it a purpose, it reassigns it.
SPEAKER_03: Saul once caused suffering for Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_03: Now he will endure suffering for Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_03: Then as we we get to the end of this section of text, Ananias and Saul, they meet.
SPEAKER_03: And here's what I want us to see.
SPEAKER_03: Ananias, he says, Brother Saul.
SPEAKER_03: Brother Saul is how he greets him.
SPEAKER_03: We can't rush past this, guys.
SPEAKER_03: In our own quiet times, this is not something we can just gloss over.
SPEAKER_03: No, the first words that Saul hears as he meets Ananias is Brother Saul.
SPEAKER_03: The first word that Saul hears as he's introduced to the early church, as he's introduced to the way, is family.
SPEAKER_03: Before Saul preaches, before he plants a bunch of churches, before he even suffers, he's embraced.
SPEAKER_03: That's church-family in action right here.
SPEAKER_03: And Ananias, he goes on to lay hands on him in faith, believing for the recovery of his sight, believing for what God wants to do through this man.
SPEAKER_03: And I want us just to look at Ananias for a second.
SPEAKER_03: Ananias, he represents something that's deeply human.
SPEAKER_03: This sort of fear of the people that God calls us to love.
SPEAKER_03: I think if we're being honest, every church has a version of Saul.
SPEAKER_03: Now maybe it's not a persecutor, it's not somebody that's persecuting the church here in America at least.
SPEAKER_03: I know other parts of the world, there's deep, deep persecution.
SPEAKER_03: We ain't even scratching the surface here in America.
SPEAKER_03: But here's what I want to see.
SPEAKER_03: If we're being honest, we've all got somebody that if God called us to go reach that person, we'd pause.
SPEAKER_03: We'd say, ah, I don't know about that person, God.
SPEAKER_03: People with the past.
SPEAKER_03: People who don't look like us, people who make us uncomfortable, people who we assume God couldn't or wouldn't use.
SPEAKER_03: Family, if we're going to be a church whose mission it is to follow the way, then we must be a church who's willing to welcome people before we fully understand them.
SPEAKER_03: We must be a church that's willing to call other people brother or sister before they've proven themselves to us.
SPEAKER_03: We must be a church that trusts that God's grace is stronger than our fear.
SPEAKER_03: Those aren't just words on the pages of our Bible.
SPEAKER_03: No, that's like church culture.
SPEAKER_03: That's what we should build our church culture around.
SPEAKER_03: Ananias, he's not famous.
SPEAKER_03: He's not an apostle, he doesn't write books.
SPEAKER_03: But without Ananias' obedience, it's very likely that Saul's story doesn't unfold in the same way.
SPEAKER_03: Never underestimate how God may use you.
SPEAKER_03: I used to, back when I lived in Oklahoma City, I was a part of this little like young ministry leaders, pastors group.
SPEAKER_03: And uh I'll never forget this because it really stuck with me.
SPEAKER_03: Like everybody knows Billy Graham, right?
SPEAKER_03: But who in here knows who Billy Graham's youth pastor was?
SPEAKER_03: I don't.
SPEAKER_03: We gotta be okay with being the Billy Graham's youth pastor type, right?
SPEAKER_03: Unseen, behind the scenes, no platform, but faithfully obedient to the living God.
SPEAKER_03: So how may God use a conversation in your life this week?
SPEAKER_03: How may God use an act of hospitality in your life this week?
SPEAKER_03: How may God use a prayer that you're praying?
SPEAKER_03: How may God use a simple yes in your life?
SPEAKER_03: Or to put it another way, who may God be calling you to move towards instead of away from?
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe this is a question that'll resonate with you.
SPEAKER_03: What would it look like for you to trust God enough to say, Here I am, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: Here I am, Lord.
SPEAKER_03: Use me.
SPEAKER_03: So as we get to the end of this morning's sermon, Ashton, you can go ahead and come on up and close this in the song.
SPEAKER_03: But just a few things that I want us to see as we close.
SPEAKER_03: Saul's physical sight returns, but more importantly, actually most importantly, his spiritual side has already come.
SPEAKER_03: And Saul, he responds immediately with obedience.
SPEAKER_03: He is baptized.
SPEAKER_03: The man who once tried to destroy the church now publicly identifies it.
SPEAKER_03: Identifies with it.
SPEAKER_03: He's putting on the jersey, the Teen Jesus jersey, saying, Hey, I'm rocking with these guys now.
SPEAKER_03: But transformation, it doesn't just end with that encounter.
SPEAKER_03: No, it leads to a commissioning.
SPEAKER_03: It leads to ascending.
SPEAKER_03: Saul's baptized, Saul's strengthened, Saul's welcomed into the community of the early church.
SPEAKER_03: This is grace at every level.
SPEAKER_03: Transformation, it's never merely internal.
SPEAKER_03: Right?
SPEAKER_03: Yes, it's internal, but it's not only internal.
SPEAKER_03: It always leads to embodied obedience and communal belonging.
SPEAKER_03: And God uses obedient disciples like Ananias to complete the work that he initiates.
SPEAKER_03: So what we see in these final verses is not just the conversion of one man, but a picture of how God's grace continues to move his mission forward.
SPEAKER_03: God's grace continues to move his mission forward, family.
SPEAKER_03: Saul is no longer an enemy.
SPEAKER_03: Ananias is no longer hesitant, and the church is no longer hiding from Saul's persecution.
SPEAKER_03: So as we step back from Acts 9, we're invited to ask what this same grace might be doing in us today.
SPEAKER_03: What Acts 9 teaches us is that no one is beyond the reach of Christ.
SPEAKER_03: That no season of blindness is wasted, that no season of being in the wilderness is wasted, and that no act of obedience is insignificant.
SPEAKER_03: The risen Christ still enjoys us.
SPEAKER_03: The Holy Spirit still transforms enemies into service.
SPEAKER_03: And the way even like people like so the question isn't whether God transforms.
SPEAKER_03: No, I think we can see for this text that Godally transforms life.
SPEAKER_03: The question is whether we support Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: So for some of you, this text is not primarily about small for any place.
SPEAKER_03: For some of you, this text is waiting for clarity instead of responding to Jesus is not asking.
SPEAKER_03: You to have everything.
SPEAKER_03: No, he's simply asking you to follow.
SPEAKER_03: He simply wants you to follow him.
SPEAKER_03: And corporately, as a church, Acts 9 reminds us who we are called to be.
SPEAKER_03: A people who are shaped by grace.
SPEAKER_03: A community that embodies transformation.
SPEAKER_03: A church that follows Jesus wherever he leads.
unknown: Even when it's uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_03: The way of Jesus does not move forward through perfect people.
SPEAKER_03: Anyone in here a perfect person?
SPEAKER_03: Maybe a few people.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe, maybe.
SPEAKER_03: Maybe we're close.
SPEAKER_03: I know I'm not.
SPEAKER_03: I know I'm deeply, deeply imperfect and sinful.
SPEAKER_03: But I seek to be obedient.
SPEAKER_03: So the way does not move forward through perfect people, but through obedience.
SPEAKER_03: So may this church be marked as an obedient church.
SPEAKER_03: And as Ashley closes us in song, I just have a final question for you to marinate on.
SPEAKER_03: If Jesus interrupted your life today, if Jesus interrupted your life today, would you resist or would you rise and obey?
SPEAKER_03: Would you resist or would you obey?
SPEAKER_03: Really think about that as we're from closing abortion.
unknown: One more thought for you.
SPEAKER_03: He who persecuted the way now proclaims the way.
SPEAKER_03: Because he encountered the one who is the way.
SPEAKER_03: Crazy thought, huh?
SPEAKER_03: Family, church, may that be our story too.
unknown: May we proclaim the name of Jesus to all who we encounter.
SPEAKER_03: I'll pray and then ask you to close this inside.
SPEAKER_03: Heavenly Father, we love you, we praise you.
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for sending your Son Jesus.
SPEAKER_03: It's the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_03: God, will we submit ourselves to Him?
SPEAKER_03: Will we live lives that are marked by having encountered the radical grace of God through Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_03: God, will we be people that don't just like come here on a Sunday and hear a sermon, but who live this out, Lord?
SPEAKER_03: Will we go from here and live these things out?
SPEAKER_03: Will we show your radical grace to anyone, everyone?
unknown: God, humble us before you.
unknown: We love you.
unknown: We praise you.
SPEAKER_03: In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_00: Join us Sundays at 10 30 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City.
SPEAKER_00: Or find us anytime at the wakeac.church.