I Am Jesus Whom You Are Persecuting

I Am Jesus Whom You Are Persecuting

That is what we like to do here at Celebration Church, We like to go through the Bible. We think Bibles are important. 

• If you didn’t bring your bible, we have them in the back of the sanctuary, make sure to grab one, and if you don’t own a Bible, take one of ours home with you, it’s our gift to you, because we believe everyone should have a copy of God’s word.

Acts so far

• A Lot of characters in the book so far, Jesus, Peter and John, Stephen, Philip, And this morning we are going to be talking about a man named Saul. 

Acts 9:1-9 

Context/Story

• • Damascus – Add to the map(Jerusalem, Samaria 40 N, Gaza 50 SW, )
    • 135 miles north of Jerusalem (the reach is expanding in every chapter!)
    • Satan sends Saul to Damascus to stop the movement.  But God is going to convert the guy along the way, and instead of murdering and imprisoning Christians, Saul will end up preaching the gospel of Jesus in Damascus for 3 years.
  • Here is what we know about Saul
    • He is brilliant
      • Martin Luther calls him “The wisest man after Christ.”
      • Tarsus (on par with the school of Alexandria and the school of Rome), 
      • trained under Gamaliel – one of the most important Pharisees of the day.
        • Memorized most of the old testament (quoted hundreds of passages) He didn’t travel with scrolls or texts, yet he could and did directly quote hundreds of old testament passages.

• A prolific writer

• • • • • Wrote 13/14 books of the new testament (literally half), 
      • Luke was a disciple of Paul. Luke was traveling companions and friends with Paul. His pastor was Paul.

• Luke wrote 28% of the new testament, Paul wrote 24% of the new testament.  Over half of the new testament was written by Paul and Paul’s Disciple

• • If you take Paul out of the New Testament, you’ve lost most of the New Testament.  It is absolutely unbelievable, the impact this man had on history.
    • The church father John Chrysostom said, “Put the whole world on one side of the scale and you will see that the soul of Paul outweighs it.”
• But Paul’s life begins in a very different place.

Threats and Murder

• • Read Vs 1-2

• Saul is like a reverse missionary

• • • Satan is using him to destroy all that Jesus had created. Saul was Satan’s man for the Job.  He was roughly the same age as Jesus, born about the same time.  So God sent Jesus, Satan sent Saul.
      • It was Saul argued against Stephen in Acts 6 – Then oversaw his execution.
      • Philip is going out sharing good news, Saul is being sent to kill those who receive it!

• Saul is extremely zealous

• • Galatians 1:13-14 – For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
• Letters to the Synagogues
  • This is about jurisdiction.  He wanted to go outside of his area of authority to kill and imprison more Christians. 
    • It’s amazing that sometimes the opponents of Christianity are more committed to their cause than the Christians. He’s willing to walk upwards of 150 miles, going from house to house to hunt down Christians.
• But persecution can’t keep up with the moving of the Spirit of God.
  • They are spreading persecution to Damascus.  But the gospel is already in Samaria, Gaza, Ethiopia, Azotus and Caesarea!
• Saul goes from being a persecutor of Christians to being persecuted for being a Christian, from being a murderer of church leaders to being a church leader who is ultimately murdered for his faith.
• Prove
  • Saul the murderer who wrote, Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
  • Saul the Pharisee who would end up writing, Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
• Apply
  • Saul thought he was being used by God.  But he was actually being used by Satan.  I think this happens a lot more than we realize both inside and outside the church.
    • Are you being used by God or being used by Satan?  
      • One way to know is by thinking about what impact are you having on the world around you? Are you contributing to other people’s growth or sanctification? Or are you more concerned with yourself? 
  • God can start with anyone under any circumstances and transform them, and use them to accomplish His purposes.
    • God used Moses (murderer), God used David (shepherd boy), God used Rahab (prostitute), God used a Donkey to accomplish His purposes.  
      • God can use you too. And if all of these were to stay silent, Luke 19 says that “the rocks themselves would cry out, declaring his praises and proclaiming his truth”  
  • God gave Saul a new name. Sometimes this is a cool thing that happens in the Bible.  A new way of life.  The name God gives you is there to remind you of your changed life. 
    • Saul would soon change his name to “Paul,” which means “small.”
      • “Saul” was a strong Jewish name, the name of the first, mighty king of Israel.
      • Saul the mighty has become Paul the small.
        • Humbling but a good reminder to him for the rest of his life.

Who Are You Lord?

• • vs 3-5
  • This question is the first and greatest question anyone can ask.  
    • “Lord” – FINALLY HE SHOWS SOME RESPECT!
      • Recognition of divinity before recognizing Identity.
    • I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…
      • Imagine the inner turmoil this must have put Saul in.  The Realization Oh… You are God, I have made some serious mistakes…
  • WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?

• Attacks against the church are attacks against Christ Himself.

• • • • Some kings/rulers see things differently, some kings will abandon their people and use their people for personal gain.  Some kings climb up to power by stepping on and crushing those whom they should be leading.  But Jesus is the opposite kind of King.  Jesus didn’t climb up to the throne on the backs of his subjects, he came down from his throne to save his people from utter destruction.  And attacks against his people are attacks against him.  That is the kind of King you want. 
  • Apply

• There is no separation between love for Jesus and commitment to His church.  You can’t love Jesus and hate his bride. 

• Dinner party

• • • • That is like saying Brandon, we would love to have you, but don’t bring that awful wife of yours.  WRONG. We are a package deal! So is Christ and His bride.
    • And I know the culture of Montrose.  I know that I am talking to many in our community who say they love Jesus but refuse to be a contributing member of a church.
    • And I also know that a lot of people don’t like that because they are immersed in a consumeristic, fast-food, one night stand kind of spirituality, that sees church more as a product to be consumed than a people to be a part of.  But if that is your beliefs and actions, you are in sin…
      • The Bride of Christ is not something that you use and then discard when it is inconvenient or you don’t get your way.   
  • What team are you on?
    • There are only two teams.  And Saul’s story should be a clear picture of our own. 
      • We were living our lives as best as we knew how without regard for Christ. We lived according to our own desires.  Driven by our sin.  Just like Saul, we are never satisfied, we are always craving more.  We selfishly build our kingdom failing to realize that our actions, our sins are actually working for the enemy.   Saul thought he was doing good. He had convinced himself that his evil deeds were in fact good ones.  You may have convinced yourself of the same thing.  But make no mistake there may be two teams, but only one of them is going to win.   What team are you on?  

Spiritual Blindness

• Tell the story (God strikes him blind, and gives him orders)

• Those around Saul could hear the voice of god, but saw nothing.  This is often how salvation occurs.  The people around you will experience all the same things as you, they read the same books, hear the same sermons, encounter the same questions, but it just sounds like noise to them, but you hear the voice of God, and you see the work of God drawing you to Himself!
• God ended his old life in an instant
  • Deuteronomy 21:18 – For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long
    • Blindness would effectively end his ministry as a Pharisee.  Much like the eunuch from chapter 8, the blind were not allowed to enter into the temple of God.  Saul, in an instant, knew he would never climb the ranks of the Jewish priestly system.  Jesus had ended that.  Saul may have felt devastated, but Jesus had something greater in mind.  
• Apply
  • Here is the truth…There is no value to physical sight if it blinds you from spiritual sight.  Saul’s  eyes were blinded so the eyes of the heart could be opened
    • In 2003, Jay Williams, a point guard for the Chicago Bulls, had just finished his first year in the NBA.  When he was in a motorcycle accident that left him barely able to walk, “I can’t believe I threw it all away, for a few seconds on a motorcycle”  But there is something far more important than basketball.  Eternal, Spiritual, Weighty things. And the worst thing he could do was throw it all away for a few seconds on a basketball court. 
  • • If God needs to put you on your back so you can see him, It is worth it. 
    • Biblical Counseling vs Secular Counseling 
      • Sin management – Replacing one socially unacceptable sin for a more socially acceptable one. 
      • But the very worst thing that could happen in our moments of need, is to find some way to feel good about our sin, without ever solving the deepest problem of the heart.  
  • The future for Paul is filled with both bright and bleak experiences.
    • His ministry lasted about 20 years. Just think about that. What have you done in the last 20 years? What have I gotten done in the last 20 years? I think if we added it all up, we haven’t all gotten done in the last 20 years what he got done in 20 years.
    • He walked an average, during those 20 years, of 20 miles a day. Twenty miles a day. And I’ve been to many of the regions in which he walked. It is rugged, it is rough, it is hot.
      • How many of us are so devoted to something, that we would walk 20 miles to make it happen?  Most scholars agree that Paul walked more than 10000 miles in his life) New York to LA 4x!
    • Preached the gospel in over 50 cities. (millions came to Christ because of His work)
    • But he was also hated, he was despised, he was opposed, his reputation was set on fire everywhere we went. He caused riots. He was flogged. He says, “I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.”
      •  they flogged him like they did Jesus and ripped the flesh off his back. 
    • He was shipwrecked and almost drowned. Bitten by a viper.  And get this, on one occasion, they stone him, they thought he was dead, so they left him. He woke up, he just got knocked out. What does he do? Walks back into town to preach some more.
      • You know what I would do? Retire. Retire, or at least say, “I’m taking a day off.” Because in the fine print of my contract, it says, “When stoned, I get the rest of the day off.” Instead, what he does is he marches back into town like, “I’m still alive! More sermons, More Jesus!”

Conclusion

• (Paul recounting his own conversion in Acts 26) he reports something else that Jesus said in between these two phrases… Acts 26:14b – ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 
  • A goad is a long rod with a sharp metal point used by farmers to prod an animal.  Kicking against it does absolutely nothing. 
    • God was prodding Saul.  He was calling Saul to come to him.
  • Is God calling you this morning? Do you feel his constant prodding?  It is hard to kick against the goads.
    • If this is you, I pray that you realize that God is not your enemy.  He is not poking at you because he wishes harm against you.  He is prodding you toward Christ.  It is for your Good. and your kicking has no value. 
    • See your sin, and the ways you have been rebelling against Him.  and Like Saul, Draw near to the throne of the Good King, and join the winning team.