Sunday Sermon
sunday morning 26th April 2009
Acts 9v1-19a.
Context:
The church is suffering persecution, but those who have left Jerusalem have gone out preaching the good news to great response, as seen with Philip.
Chapter nine opens up with what seems to be the counter balance to this success!
V1. “But Saul”! Yes the Samaritans had received the gospel, but there were still those who actively sought to stamp it out. Not everyone rejoices in the work of God!
Saul hated the early disciples – “breathing threats and murder.”
His very life was driven and energised by his hatred of the early church.
V2 he started an organised, officially approved, persecution.
He now had the high priests authority to imprison followers of the Way.
Interesting name for the early church: obviously the name reflected the great centre of the whole enterprise – the One who said he was the Way!
In all of this we are reminded that the Church is in a battle.
We are fighting for peoples souls. Some respond to the truth, but others reject it!
But the battle itself is not the real story. The real story is about the One who is in charge of the battle, the One who is already the winner of the war!
Remember the beginning of this book tells us that Luke writes to tell us about the continuing work of Jesus. He had written his gospel to tell what Jesus had begun to do and to teach, now he is writing to tell us what Jesus is continuing with!
And we have seen much already about what Jesus is continuing to do with the world.
Last week we saw Jesus was about the business of bring new life to people, the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch.
Next in this chapter we see what Jesus does with Saul the Persecutor!
And the theme is the same Jesus is about the business of bringing new life.
1st Jesus shows himself to Saul.
V3 Saul was not going to get very far in his pogrom! Suddenly, light out of the atmosphere! The lower heavens opened up to reveal a great shining light.
V4 the light brought Saul to his knees!
App
This is what salvation is all about: Seeing the Lord.
We can very easily lose sight of this fundamental point, salvation is about a relationship with Jesus. It is about the glory of a Person!
Light expresses that glory very well. He is powerful, overwhelmingly glorious.
· But why does the Lord not reveal his glory more often?
Simply because we would not be able to cope with it. Saul was almost killed by it!
The disciples on the mount of Transfiguration became like babbling idiots at the sight of it.
The people in the days of Moses were terrified by the reflected glory that was on his face after he had met with Yahweh.
The Lord Jesus could impose his glory on each of us and force our adherence, but that would simply make us robotic slaves.
God’s great desire for us is that we would come to Jesus because we want to, as his friends!
From there, in a relationship of love, we worship.
2) Then came a voice, Jesus speaks to Saul!
The voice brought a question: “why do you persecute me”.
Why was Paul persecuting Jesus?
V5 Paul wants to know who he is speaking to: who are you Lord? “I am Jesus”
Words that must have shook Saul to the core: “I am!” “Jesus!”
V6 then the command, a question followed by a command.
If the great I am commands, the faithful servant has only one option, obedience.
Told to go to the city, that is keep going in the same direction.
V7 Saul’s travelling companions heard the sound but saw no one!
V8 Saul gets up but finds he can’t see. Had to be led by hand into the city.
V9 for three days he sat blind, not eating or drinking!
This is a man in despair, waiting and wondering!
App
Very soon after coming to the glorious person of Jesus Christ He begins to speak.
Indeed we may be drawn to him through his words.
Basically the words bring a question to each of us: what are you doing with Me?
Saul was asked why he persecuted Jesus.
We need to ask what are we doing with Jesus?
The bible tells us that Jesus is the One who fills the very atmosphere, who is all around us, who is closer to us than we are to ourselves, seeing us all the time!
So what are we doing with him!
Pauls response to the revelation and words of Jesus was physical blindness followed by three days of prayer and fasting! The whole experience was overwhelming.
The knowledge that God is here, should overwhelm us too!
It should led us to worship as it did Jacob of old – Gen 28v16f.
This world is the house of God, He is everywhere in it!
· But how are to go about experiencing Him?
The first step is by honestly looking for him. Put God to the test in this way, seek him and you will find him!
3) then Jesus brings Saul new life.
V10 the story progresses. One of those whom Paul was going to catch and imprison is called by God to go to Paul! Ananias.
V11 he is called to go to Saul because Saul was praying – that was what the three days were spent doing.
V12 Saul has seen a vision of Ananias go to him and restore his sight!
V13-14 Ananias is rightly wary! He has heard all about Saul! And knows why he is in Damascus.
V15-16 nevertheless the Lord confirms his command and tells Ananias to go!
For Saul is God’s man for the job of worldwide missionary/evangelist!
V17 Ananias goes to Saul, places his hands on him and Saul receives the Holy Spirit.
V18 Saul is converted! Scales fall from his eyes, he can now see! He is then baptised
V19 he then eats again and stays in Damascus for a few days.
App
Seeking Jesus, followed by listening to his words, leads to new life.
This is the surprising and exciting outcome of it all. This is the true wonder of the gospel.
The Lord is all around us, seeking us, calling after us, in order to give us new life!
Jesus has come to bring life to the world. Divine life, full life, eternal life, meaningful life.
Life is what being a follower of Jesus is all about. Life in and through a relationship with Him.
sunday evening 26th April 2009
Col 1v12-14
Last week we saw that Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with a knowledge of Gods will for them, so that they would then live a life worthy of God, that they would please him in every way, bearing fruit, growing in knowledge and in it all having great endurance and patience. All of this was to stem from knowing Gods will and doing it! And therein lies the basic simplicity of the Christian life – to lead a good wise life all we need to do is trust and obey! And the great truth of salvation is that we can do just that, because of what he has done for us, as we will see this week.
So what do we see this week?
We qualify for salvation (inheritance), because we have been Rescued and Redeemed.
The believer is someone who has been saved, rescued, redeemed only by the grace of God. He has saved us. We have not earned our salvation. We are a people bought at a price.
The whole story of the bible is the story of Gods rescue of lost mankind. And in that rescue mission we have done nothing to help! Instead we have run from God, we have done all we can to remain lost. But God has pursued his people.
1) qualified v12
Leading a good life of good works that pleases God is not about earning our salvation!
The truth is we have been made fit for salvation already!
We have qualified for the inheritance!
· Getting a qualification can be very hard work.
Passing exams, studying, working etc, all to earn a qualification!
Salvation is not about earning a qualification – now I am holy enough to be saved!
Salvation says you already are qualified, you are already “holy in Christ v1”.
Because God has qualified us, we are then called to live for his glory.
We have been given new life, and we are to bear fruit.
App:
Recognise that you have qualified. God has saved you. The inheritance is yours.
Don’t seek to earn salvation, simply give thanks for it.
Thankfulness is what we are called to here. And how thankful we should be because we could never qualify for salvation through good works.
Thanksgiving is not an emotionally based activity. It is a duty that we are to discipline ourselves to. In every circumstance we are to give thanks.
As we give thanks for all that God has done, the problems will be overcome.
Because in thanksgiving we look beyond the temporal world to the inheritance!
The full salvation: heaven and all that is to come.
The inheritance is the opposite of darkness, it is light. It is all that is good.
2) rescued / delivered v13
But how have we qualified. What has God done for us?
What has actually happened to us? Salvation is a mystery and often, especially in the early stages we don’t know what has happened to us.
But here we are told.
The picture of this verse is a great one to hold in our minds. We were once in enemy captivity but we have been set free from that captivity, we have been rescued / delivered.
Rescuing involves a “from” and a “to”.
Salvation is from one thing to another. From darkness to light. From Egypt to the Promised land. From dominion to Kingdom. From death and to life!
From “power of Darkness” to “kingdom of the son of his love”!
App:
As human we stand in need of rescuing! And if the rescue does not come we die!
Our plight is a great one and always will be, we will never reach the point where we can save ourselves.
The danger is that as humans we tend not to think of ourselves in such stark terms.
But there is the revelation of God’s word, that tells us how bad things are and how much we are in need of Him.
Our problem is not that we just need a bit of confidence, or some better motivation.
We need deliverance/rescue. We need Divine miracle! Nothing less will do.
But this is exactly where the good news comes in!
God does rescue/deliver from our hopeless condition.
God will rescue any who call on Him for that rescue.
3) redeemed v14
In order to affect our deliverance, God had to redeem us.
Redemption is a term that means a price paid for our liberation from captivity/bondage.
But what was actually paid for?
Our sins – “the forgiveness of sins”
That is our sins were cancelled, the debt paid in full.
We owed nothing, thus we were set free. That is redemption.
App:
The cost of our redemption was borne by our Saviour.
The Redeemer has died, His blood has been shed, so that our sins can be forgiven, and more than that, so that we can receive the inheritance – new life, heaven etc.
Always remember the full scope of salvation:
Qualification, deliverance, redemption are words set to serve as reminders of the greatness of salvation.
This is no small thing that God has done for us:
· he has forgiven our sins (redemption),
· he has brought us into a new kingdom (rescue)
· he has given us new fullness of life (qualified for inheritance).
All this can be yours if you but see your need of it and call out to Jesus for salvation.
All this is yours if you already know Christ – all that remains is to give thanks.
