Good afternoon.
I want to thank everyone for being here this today.
How many of us ever haven't looked back in our lives and thought, only I could go back and do things differently?
Exactly.
Every single one of us at some point in our times and our life have thought that.
Maybe you've said something you can't take back.
you've done something that you regret every single day.
Maybe you're past to spill the things that still haunt you.
All of us here know the weight of regret.
All of us here know the desire to want a new beginning.
And today, that's what we're going to talk about.
We're going to talk about new beginnings.
But this sort of lesson, we're going to talk about a new beginning, about Saul's conversion.
Here's the truth to all of this.
Real beginnings do not come from changing your surroundings, they come from changing your soul, from changing your heart.
You can pack up, start over, and move across the whole world, but when you get there, the same you is still staring at you through the mirror.
We don't need a new house, we don't need to pick our bags up and move away, or even a new job, we need a new heart.
And that new beginning only comes through God.
Without Him, every other attempt in life is just a patch.
But the good news of the very heart of the gospel is that our God is a God of new beginnings.
From Genesis to Revelation, the story of God's Word is the story of man's failure and God's mercy.
And yet, when they turned to God, He gave them new start.
Noah stepped off the ark into a new beginning.
Israel crossed into the Red Sea into a new beginning.
left Moab and stepped into a new beginning with the people of God.
We see also Peter.
who denied the Lord three times and yet God restored him into a new beginning.
The truth is, it's not too late to start again with God.
Today we're going to walk down the road of Damascus and see a man's story who completely turned his whole life around in one of the most dramatic transformations in all of
history.
His name was Saul of Tarsus, the man we know better, Paul.
And what a story that is.
When we turn to Acts chapter 9, we meet a man whose life was on the course of destruction.
He was a man of iron will, strong conviction, and fiery zeal.
Yet his zeal was not according to knowledge.
He thought he was serving God the entire time when in reality he was fighting against Him.
He thought he was defending the truth when in reality he was just sitting there attacking it.
He thought he was protecting righteousness, but in fact he was persecuting the very Lord of righteousness.
And yet in the middle of all of his error, God intervened.
A new beginning was given.
Now brother, as we study this account, we're not just learning some old history, we're not just reading about a man long time ago.
who had experienced an event unlike any other, we are seeing Saul's conversion in the very heart of the gospel message.
We are seeing that no one is too far from God, and we are seeing that God can even take the chief of sinners and make them into something new.
We are reminded that when we open the scriptures and we read about Saul's account, we can read that what Christ did for Saul, he can do for you and me.
When you and I open the scriptures, we must never forget that the word of God is living and it is active.
Brother Revster, one time in one of his gospel meetings said, the Bible reads us while we read it.
And what a true statement that is.
If Christ could take a persecutor and make him a preacher, if he could take a blasphemer and make him a believer, if he could take a destroyer and make him a disciple, then he can
take you and me and all of our shortcomings and all of our failures and make something new out of us.
Saul was the last man that you would expect to follow Christ.
embedding odds on the man most likely who's uncandidate for baptism in the first century, Saul would be the man on top of that list.
But in God's hands, the enemy of the church became its greatest defender.
So tonight I want us to look at three points as we go through this together.
Saul's past, Saul's encounter, and Saul's obedience.
And as we do, I want us to not only see Saul's story, but our own.
As we begin this study, every one of us needs to know that every one of us
without Christ was an enemy of God.
Every one of us must choose obedience if we desire to have a new beginning.
So today as we open up these scriptures may we allow them to confront us.
And let's begin with Saul's past, the enemy of Christ.
The brighter the light, the darker the shadow it exposes.
And when it comes to Saul, the scriptures do not hide his past.
It is laid out for us so we can see the true danger that Saul himself was in.
When we meet him in Acts chapter 8 verse 3, we do not find a man
who was searching after truth.
We do not find a gentle man here or a man curious to learn about Christ.
Now, Luke writes in Acts chapter 8 verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them into prison.
The same word havoc here gives a deep meaning.
The word havoc is in the Greek writings is to describe a wild boar tearing through a vineyard or a wild animal ripping apart its prey.
Luke gives the full picture about Saul and who he was.
That's who Saul is.
This is a picture that God paints for us.
This is not a man who's curious about faith.
This was a man determined to crush faith.
And in Acts 9 and 1, Luke gives us a clearer picture.
And Saul, still breathing out threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest.
Look at the phrase, breathing out threats and murder.
Hatred wasn't in just Saul's actions.
It was in his very breath.
every plan and every decision and his every heartbeat was bent on destroying the church.
He was consumed with hatred.
He woke up thinking about how he could stop the church and he went to bed thinking about how he could stop the church.
And yet that's what makes this lesson all more powerful striking is that Saul though, Saul was not an ignorant man.
Is it possible to know the Bible in part and yet miss the very heartbeat of it?
Is it possible to be religious and yet still be lost?
possible to be sincere and yet sincerely wrong.
Saul thought he was serving God when in reality he was fighting against him.
And later on in Acts chapter 23 verse 1, Paul would say, brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God unto this day.
In other words, Saul was thinking he was doing the right things.
In his heart, he believed what he was doing was right.
But, conscience alone does not determine truth.
A man may follow his conscience straight into destruction if his consciousness is not guided by the Word of God.
A conscience that is not grounded in God's Word may feel right in the moment, but I promise you
it will carry a soul straight to hell with a clear mind and a closed Bible.
And so Saul with a clear conscience but a corrupted understanding made himself the enemy of Christ.
In 1st Timothy chapter 1 verse 13 he admitted it.
He told us who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious but I obtained mercy because I did it in ignorantly and unbelief.
Look at the words blasphemer, injurious, persecutor.
He was not exaggerating he truly was a blasphemer.
against the Lord because he had denied his son.
He was truly a persecutor because he hunted down Christians to kill them.
He truly was injurious because he harmed the innocent.
We live in the world that says it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.
Or go to the church of your choice.
But, brethren, that is one of the most dangerous lies that Satan has ever told us.
The Bible never says, choose the church of your choice.
The Bible says in Ephesians chapter four, verses four through five, that there is one body and one spirit even as you are called into one hope of your calling.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
There are not many bodies.
There are not many faiths.
There is one.
Think about it.
If any church of your choice were enough, truth would not matter, would it?
Doctrine would not matter.
Baptism wouldn't matter.
Worship itself wouldn't matter.
In John chapter 4 verse 24, is in spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Sincerity is required, yes, but sincerity is not alone, is not enough.
And that's where Paul or Saul comes into this situation.
Because Saul's life proves this very point.
He was zealous, he was sincere, he was passionate.
and he was dead wrong.
Proverbs 14-12 says, is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Saul thought he was doing right the whole time, but in reality, he was racing towards destruction.
How many people do we know in our lives are in that same condition today?
They may carry a Bible, they may pray often, they may be zealous for the church, but zeal does not equal truth, and sincerity does not equal salvation.
There are millions in today's world who are like Paul, convinced they are serving God.
but they've never truly obeyed the truth of the gospel.
Saul's story is a warning to us that it is not enough just to be religious, just to show up through the doors.
We must be religious and we must be right with God's Word.
Think about something.
How many of us were once like Saul?
Maybe we didn't persecute Christians, but we disobeyed or we opposed God by the way we lived.
Or maybe we laughed at the church or mocked the Bible or resisted the gospel.
Or maybe we filled our lungs with the same breathing of threats not in violence but in words and arguments and pride.
Saul's past is not too far from ours than we might think.
The truth is, every single one of us in here has had a past.
But no matter how different our past may look, we all still have one thing in common.
We all needed forgiveness.
And without Christ, we were all enemies of God.
Saul was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an injurious man.
But yet, by the grace of God, he became an apostle, a missionary, the very gospel he once tried to destroy.
God took a persecutor and made him a preacher.
He took a murderer and made him a missionary and he took an enemy and made him an evangelist.
If God can do that with Saul, then he can take our lives no matter where it's been and give us a brand new direction.
In 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 15 through 16, tells us there's a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am
chief.
This is Paul talking, how be it for this cause to obtain mercy, that in me and Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on him to life everlasting.
In Christ, even the chief of sinners can be washed, sanctified, and justified.
on to Saul's encounter, confronted by Christ.
Every story of conversion has a moment of confrontation.
Every soul before it is saved must face of Jesus Christ.
Some are confronted through hearing a sermon or a personal study, but Saul's confrontation was unique.
It was powerful and was unforgettable.
Saul's story, as we look at Acts chapter 9, turns a different completely way.
Here he is on his way to Damascus.
Letters in hand, authority
from the high priest determined to hunt down Christians.
In Acts chapter 9 verses 3 through 5 he says, as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven and he fell to the ground heard a voice
saying to him Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?
And he said who are you Lord?
And the Lord said I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
Is it hard for you to kick against the goats?
Or in the KJV reads the pricks.
Can you imagine for a moment the shock on his face?
The very name that Saul hated more than anything was there speaking to him.
the very man he thought was dead and gone was alive and speaking directly to him.
And those words must have cut him straight to the heart.
Saul, why are you persecuting me?
No, it's not why are you persecuting the church, but he says me.
To attack the church is to attack Christ himself.
Every chain that Saul clamped on a Christian was a chain that was clamped on Christ.
Every stone that was thrown at Stephen was a blow against Christ.
Think about the realization here that Saul must have had.
In one instant his
entire world collapsed in James chapter 1 verses 2 through 3 or James chapter 1 verse 23 through 24 says, be doers of the word not hearers only deceiving your own selves for if
any be a hearer of the word not a doer he is like unto a man beholding his natural face and a glass.
This verse compares the Word of God to a mirror when you look into it you see yourself as you really are you know the truth is sometimes we don't like what we see.
A mirror can't make you dirty, but it can show you the dirt.
The Word of God doesn't make us a sinner, but it shows us when we are in sin.
And like Saul, we must be willing to admit it when the light exposes it.
Even when Saul saw Jesus, though, even when he saw him on the road to Damascus, it is important to note he was not saved here.
He was still lost.
And Jesus said in Acts 9-6, and he was trembling, and Asanah said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
And the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you
must do.
Now Saul, and Saul, trembling and astonished, asked the only question that he can.
Lord, what will thou have me to do?
Notice the word Lord at that moment.
Saul doesn't know exactly who he is speaking to, but he knows this is a voice from heaven.
He knows that this is divine authority.
And the answer comes, I am Jesus.
The very name that he despised, the very name that he tried to erase, and the very name that belonged, that he thought belonged to an imposter.
And I saw that moment, saw his entire world collapse.
Everything that he believed for, everything that he fought for in his life, everything that he trusted in was overturned in one moment.
Brethren, that is the power of an encounter with Christ.
It shatters down our lives, lies that we've been saying.
It shatters down our pride.
It forces us to see the truth whether we want to or not.
And Jesus has these words, is it hard for these to kick against the gold?
The phrase refers to an ox goat, a sharp stick that was used to guide stubborn animals.
When an ox kicks against it, it was only hurting itself more.
God is saying to Paul, when you're fighting me, you're only hurting yourself more.
Proverbs 23, 30 tells us there is no wisdom nor understanding.
nor counsel against the Lord.
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
This is a surrender of a humbled man who knows that the whole life that he's been living is wrong.
It simply yields bread.
And that's what every encounter with Christ must lead to.
It must bring us to a place where we say, Lord, what do you want of me?
As we said earlier, Saul's question was right.
It prepared him for salvation, but it wasn't enough.
Something more was required.
That is important because many in the denominational world today will say, they'll look at the point that Saul was in and say that the moment, that moment that he experienced was
the moment of his salvation.
And they say they haven't experienced, well, I've seen the light, I felt the Holy Spirit come inside me.
And I prayed and I cried to God and I believe I'm saved now.
But they've never obeyed the gospel.
And just like Saul, they're still lost.
Saul still had to go into the city and be told what must he do.
It is not enough to have an experience with Christ.
We must obey the commands of Christ.
In Hebrews chapter 5 verse 9 tells us in being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation and to all of them that obey him.
Saul's vision was not obedience.
It was conviction.
His tears did not wash away his sins.
His fasting did not cleanse his soul.
Only the blood of Christ could do that.
And that blood is applied to us when we obey the gospel.
Let's move on to Saul's obedience.
A changed life.
When Saul arrived in Damascus, God sent a man named Ananias to him.
And Ananias delivered the message that would change Saul's life forever.
And Acts chapter 22 verse 16 tells us, and why now are you waiting?
Arise and be baptized.
washing away your sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.
Saul was repeating what Ananias had told him earlier.
Notice the urgency.
Why are you waiting?
Saul had spent three days blind, broken, and praying from this moment Saul was a new man.
In Acts chapter 9 verse 30, and immediately he preached Christ into the synagogues that he is the Son of God.
The change was immediate.
The one who had tried to silence the gospel was now proclaiming it.
The one who had destroyed churches was now planting them.
The one who had shed Christian blood was now shedding his own for Christ's sake.
Before Saul's mission started, it was fueled by only hatred.
But now it's fueled by love.
Before he thought he was serving God by killing people, but now he's giving his life for Christians.
That is the power of a new beginning of Christ.
It doesn't change what you are, it changes what you live for.
And, brethren, that is the mark of every true Christian.
If our obedience does not lead to a changed life, then our obedience
was not true.
Because when a man truly meets Christ, something has to change.
You cannot truly meet Jesus and stay the same in your life.
You cannot walk with God and still walk in darkness.
You cannot claim to know the cross and still live for the world.
If your faith hasn't cost you anything, then your faith is worth nothing.
If your walk with Christ looks no different than before, all you're doing is just walking in circles.
When Christ steps into a life, He tears down the old and raises up the new.
He takes the prideful and He makes them humble again.
He takes the heart of stone and make it beat again with love.
That's what it means to be born again, not a better version of who you are, but a brand new creation.
A man who once chased sin, now chases righteousness.
A woman who sought out only for the world, now seeks the Savior in a heart that once loved pleasure, now loves purity.
Brethren, if Christ truly lives in us,
The world ought to see it.
They ought to hear it in the way we speak, in the way we live, in the way we love each other.
Because a changed heart will always lead to a changed life.
And now right there is the power of a new beginning in Christ.
In Romans chapter 6 verse 4, it tells us, therefore we are buried with Him into baptism and death.
Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of Father, even so we should also walk in newness of life.
Obedience brings us into Christ, but it also requires us to walk
different path.
It demands repentance, holiness, service, and faithfulness.
That is where Paul speaks with great power.
And if you turn to Philippians chapter 3, verse 13 through 14, as he neared the end of his life, he was able to say, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but this
one thing I do is forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul could have spent the rest of his life in guilt over the things
that he had done.
He could have let his past haunt him forever, but instead he said, press forward.
I don't look what's going on behind.
I don't look at my past or what I've done.
m
That's what the new beginnings in Christ look like.
They free us from our past and sets us on a mission towards a brighter future.
If Paul could press forward with after everything that he had done, then so can we.
A new beginning creates a new mission.
And that's what true conversion looks like.
It's not a change of the mind, it's a change of life.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 tells us, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.
have passed away, all things have become new.
When we are baptized, we become something new.
Notice how Saul's obedience was immediate.
This is important because Saul did not just merely go through the acts of baptism and then fade away into the background.
His life became a living sacrifice.
His obedience transformed every part of who he was, where once he used his feet to travel to persecute Christians, now he was using them to travel to establish the churches, where
once his
mouth had spoken against Christ, now it was preaching Christ.
His obedience was not a one-time act, it was a life of continual surrender to the life of Christ.
But let's also notice that Saul's obedience, it costed him something.
From the very moment that he chose Christ, became the hunted instead of the hunter.
The very ones who praised him was now planning his death.
The Jews who admired him now saw him as a traitor.
Many will follow
Christ as long as it is easy, as long as it don't cost him much.
But Saul shows us that obedience to Christ is worth everything even when it costs us everything.
He could have gone back to his old life.
He could have chosen to stay silent.
He could have compromised the truth.
But instead he declared boldly in Acts chapter 20 verse 24, none of these things move me neither count on my life dear to myself so that I might finish my course course with joy
and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to
testify of the grace of God.
Paul became a man on fire for the gospel.
He walked away from the life he knew and took upon himself a life of a servant.
He faced beatings, imprisonment, hunger, rejection, shipwreck, and yet he never turned back to the life that he had.
The same man who once held the coats of those who stoned Stephen was now proclaiming the very message that Stephen died for.
So Saul, after everything he had done,
in the church killing thousands and thousands of Christians has now become a Christian.
He had his whole life turned around.
So today maybe you need a new beginning.
Maybe you've been resisting, surrender, trying to do things your own way, but Paul's story shows us the only way forward is to ask, Lord, what do want me to do?
Maybe today that you've lost sight of your mission, weighed down by the past, but Paul's words cause us to forget those things which are behind and reach forth into those things
which are before with everything we have.
Rather than the same Lord who met Saul on the road to Damascus is calling you today.
The question is, will you let him?
You could do anything in this world, absolutely anything, but if you choose to become a Christian, I'm telling you that is the most important thing that you could ever do.
If there's any way that we can help you today, come to us together.