Bible Text: Acts 9:1-22 | Preacher: Pastor Karen | Series: Acts | We continue our study of the book of Acts.  We are now in our 9th week.  We started with Ascension Sunday and the beginning of the book of Acts as a continuation of the Gospel of Luke.  Before he leaves earth he promises the Holy Spirit will be present with his disciples and us.  We worked on our memory verse for June from this first chapter of Acts:  “And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”  We now wait prayerfully for the return of Jesus and work to fulfil his commandments in the meantime.

Then we celebrated Pentecost- the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the people gathered in Jerusalem and the birth of the church.  The book of Acts continues with stories about the early church that have clear and relevant messages for us.  We read about Peter and John healing the blind man- they did not have money to give him, which is what he was asking for, but they saw his need was deeper than that, they looked at him, had compassion, and used the power given to them by the Holy Spirit to heal his blindness.  Our discipleship requires more than our money- it requires our willingness to meet the need with acts of service.

We read about Peter’s courage in speaking up to the leaders when he was jailed for preaching and teaching about Jesus.  He chose to use this time, not to defend himself and his actions, but to evangelize!  To tell people about Jesus and to encourage them to follow Jesus for their own salvation.  We learn that even though we may feel we are in a difficult situation, the power of God is in us too and that power should give us courage and boldness to tell our story of God’s work in our lives.

Then we moved on to the story of Annanias and Sapphira who were struck dead instantly for lying to the apostles about their financial contributions.  We asked the question why no one warned Sapphira of the consequence of her husband’s lie before she went before the apostles.  As a body of Christ we have an obligation to care for each other. That caring requires us to confront sinful behavior in order to prevent the death caused by the separation from God.

We then read and heard the story of Stephen, the martyr.  We marveled at the ability of Stephen to continue to speak of Jesus, to evangelize even to his death.  No one is without a story about how Jesus has worked in their lives, no matter their circumstances, their age, their experience.  Telling our story may not be popular, but it is required for the continued growth of the church.

And last week, we heard about Philip (with 1 ”L”) and the Ethiopian eunuch.  The eunuch was reading the psalms and Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading, which of course he did not… Yet, when Philip took the time to talk to him about the scripture and proclaim the good news of Jesus, the eunuch was converted and baptized on the spot.  We read that he went away rejoicing and likely telling others about Jesus.  We need to be open to answer people’s questions about Jesus when they ask or seem interested.  We know that God is the business of growth and we need to be willing witnesses in our end of the earth.

 

A theme we have heard repeated in the book of Acts so far is growth.  Peter preached on Pentecost and people joined the church.  Peter stood up to the leaders by telling about Jesus and people came to the church.  Annanias and Sapphira lies came at a time that people were giving everything they had to see the church grow.  Philip teaches the Eunuch and the gospel spreads to a new land.  People seemed really interested in this good news and anxious to join the church and invite their families and friends.  People’s lives were being changed, their hearts warmed to the love of God and their minds and souls converted to living the way Jesus commanded.  God is in the business of growth, not just number growth, but spiritual growth.  And growth required transformation.  People left their old lives for a new life in Christ.  People left their jobs for the work of the church.  People were forgiven and a lifelong weight was lifted.  God is in the business of transformation.

 

We might actually be able to see ourselves doing what Philip did with the Ethopian Eunuch.  We talk to a friend who expresses some interest in church and we offer an invitation.  We have a co-worker who says she wants to start reading the Bible and asks where to start.  We have a family member who has always made fun of our “church going” or our “church work”, but now has started to ask some more questions about how we know about God in our lives.  It is easy to see the transformation in people’s lives who show some initial interest.  Those who bring up the topic first are easy to talk to.

But, today’s lesson from the Book of Acts is a little more challenging.  We read about Saul.  We have heard his name in previous books of Acts.

 

Acts 7:58 Then they dragged him (Stephen) out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

 

Acts 8:1 And Saul approved of their killing him.

 

Acts 8:3 But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.

 

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, …

 

Certainly, he was not someone searching for the good news of Jesus Christ.  He wasn’t the least bit interested in the transformational power of God through Jesus, was he?  He wanted to eliminate the entire new Christian movement.

He might have been the very last person the apostles would put on their list to talk to about Jesus.  He might not have made the list at all, actually.  Can you think of people today who might be like that?  Not only not interested in learning about Jesus, but actually persecuting those who do believe?  There are people in the world right now, worshipping in secret for fear of someone like Saul.  Someone who will imprison or kill them for their beliefs and their worship.  Maybe we don’t face that exactly here in the US, but maybe we meet people who make fun of us for our faith, to make us feel guilty that we cannot commit to something because we made worship a priority or that we pray before we eat.

We can’t imagine a conversion in those people, can we?

But, the story of Saul’s transformation reminds us that what we can’t imagine, God does.  What we think is impossible is possible with God.

Scripture tells us that Saul was travelling on the road.  He was not in the temple, or in a house church, he was not attending a preaching moment by Peter.  He was walking on the road, heading to Damascus with plans to look for and jail anyone who was a follower of Jesus.  Yet, God chose this time and this place to make Himself known to Saul.  God doesn’t rely on the church building for transformation and conversion.  It can happen anywhere and when we least expect it.

 

So, Jesus introduces himself to Saul in the middle of the road surrounded by a ton of people.  And then Saul is made blind.  He is now reliant on others to guide him back to Damascus.  And he is blind for 3 days…God has to use drastic measures sometimes to get our attention and we usually have to give up some kind of control on our journey of transformation.  I wonder what Saul thought about during his 3 days of blindness.  God tells Ananias that Saul is praying.  He was well educated in what we know as the Old Testament.  I wonder if he pondered, mediated on and was reminded of scripture like the one we read from the prophet Ezekiel.  Ezekiel was speaking to the Jews who were in exile in Babylon.  He was trying to give them hope.  He tells them, “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”  Saul received a new heart, a new spirit, his heart of stone was removed and he received a heart of flesh (one full of compassion). Saul receive the gift of God’s grace.  Saul was transformed, in mind, heart and spirit and in name.

 

But perhaps one of our biggest questions is why Saul?  Why would God choose a tyrant to become the most prolific preacher, evangelist and contributor to the Bible as we know it?  We can kind of understand choosing fishermen or tax collectors, but Saul?  It seemed he was the very epitome of evil.

 

Because God is merciful, compassionate and full of grace.  God is in the business of growth and transformation.  God is in the business of giving the gift of grace, to everyone, everywhere.  John Wesley uses the term prevenient grace to help us understand how God wants everyone to experience this grace.  God is wooing us, working in us when we don’t realize it,  drawing us toward himself. God wants everyone to be in relationship with him.  God wants everyone to have salvation.  God makes his grace available to all people.  Even though we might question whether a person deserves grace, God does not.

 

And that grace has the power to transform us, to align us with God’s will, to soften our hearts, to change our minds.  I am confident that if God has the power to change Saul’s heart, God has the power to change anyone.

 

God is in the business of transformation.  But God desires us to be in business with him.  Ananias is asked to pray with Saul so he can regain his sight.  Of course Ananias is hesitant.  Didn’t God know who this Saul character was and what he was capable of?  However, Ananias was obedient.  He participated in the transformation begun by God on the road.

 

We don’t get a lot of information about this time when Ananias and Saul were together.  But, we are reminded by Luke again that Saul’s conversion did not happen in the center of Jerusalem and it did not happen because of any religious leader interaction or human persuasion.  It happened in a little house on Straight St. The power of God transformed him.  His transformation was necessary for the church to grow and expand.

 

Our transformation is necessary for the church’s growth and expansion. It is also necessary for our own personal growth and the expansion of our minds.  Paul would write a letter to the Romans some 20 years after his experience on the Road to Damascus.  It is our key verse of the day on the front of the bulletin.  Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Paul reminds us that what we know from the world is not the end of the story.   How we are now is not how we will always be- growth requires transformation for his will to be done.

 

How is God calling you to personal transformation.  Is God calling you from quiet to outspoken, timid to bold, fearful to courageous, anxious to peaceful, cynical to hopeful?  And how is God calling you part of the transformation of the church?  IS God calling you to transform from a follower to a leader, a church attender to a servant, an observer to a facilitator, a member to a disciple, an occasional giver to one who tithes?

 

As the body of Christ, we are called to be open to change in ourselves, in others and as a community of believers.  We are called to trust that this change will lead to transformation and we will be a new creation, with a new mind, a new spirit and a new heart.  God is the business of transformation. As children of God, we are called into that family business. Amen.