9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 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. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 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 Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,12 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.”13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 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.16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”17 So Ananias 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.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.
Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues
For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 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. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 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 Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,12 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.”13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 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.16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”17 So Ananias 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.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.
Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues
For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:
Well, good evening. It's lovely to see you all. We are going to be continuing our study in the Acts of the Apostles. So if you have a Bible with you, go ahead and turn to Acts chapter 9. If you have a worship guide, you'll see that we actually are starting off with a reading from Galatians, chapter 1.
Jeffrey Heine:
In Galatians, chapter 1, Paul is reflecting on what happened in Acts chapter 9. And so we will begin with those words, the apostle Paul to the Galatians. And let us listen carefully, for this is God's word. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:
For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 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. But when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son to me. In order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone, verse 22. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:
They only were hearing it said. He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy, and they glorified God because of me. This is the word of the Lord.
Joel Brooks:
Thanks be to God.
Jeffrey Heine:
Let's pray. Oh, lord, to you, all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you, no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we might hear you, know you, and love you this evening. Oh, god, your love will not let us go, And that is the hope of our souls now and forever. So speak to us now by your spirit, for your servants are listening.
Jeffrey Heine:
We pray these things in the name of the father, and the son, and the holy spirit. Amen. Much to the frustration of my family, I can spend hours at a museum. There is something about seeing artifacts, things that you can lay hold of, seeing real objects, objects that either have a significance in history or represent a significant point in history, art museums, history museums, science museums. The only person that I know that can spend as much time in a museum as I can is Joel Brooks.
Jeffrey Heine:
We once killed an entire day at the Natural History Museum in Chicago. Just 2 dudes looking at fossils, living the dream. For me, falling in love with museums began when I was, went on a 6th grade trip, a school trip to Washington, DC, because there's nothing like a 16 hour bus ride to get a bunch of 6th graders ready for a day at a museum. But as we shuffled into the Smithsonian's American History Museum, I turned the corner and saw a glass case. And inside of that glass case, there was a red sweater.
Jeffrey Heine:
And next to the red sweater, there was a photo of mister Rogers. And after that, there was another glass case, and inside of that, 2 faded yet still sparkling ruby slippers. Next to that, in another glass case, a trash can with a green puppet peeking out. These these items on display, these artifacts, these items with an uncommon history, they weren't just images on my TV anymore. They they weren't just images in my memory.
Jeffrey Heine:
They were right in front of me. They were actually real. And after that, I was hooked, and every time we travel, I always try to find what museums the city has to offer. I've seen the ink covered first draft of Handel's Messiah. I've seen the first handwritten pages of Alice in Wonderland.
Jeffrey Heine:
I've seen the child's birthday card, which on the back, John Lennon wrote A Hard Day's Night. And this past summer, in San Francisco, I saw a sheet of plain white paper with a little pencil drawing of an airplane. And flying the plane was a little mouse, and it was the first ever drawing of Mickey Mouse. And one of the most amazing museum items that I've ever been fortunate to see, It's the oldest complete New Testament still surviving today. So it's called Codex Sinaiticus.
Jeffrey Heine:
It means Sinai book. It was produced in the middle of 4th century, and the book was preserved for many centuries at Saint Catherine's Monastery, near the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt. And when I saw it in the British Library in London, it was opened up, the the papyrus, the the pages were opened up to the gospel according to Luke. Seeing it there, looking at the Greek lettering, all caps, no spaces between the words, all beautifully styled in black and red ink, I realized in a whole new way that the Bible, the written word of God, was written down by real people. It was written down by real people about real people and their experiences with their real God.
Jeffrey Heine:
The Spirit inspired these writers. He led them. He guided them, and those writers were actually real. Seeing those words there, I clumsily could make out, in the Greek, in that ornate lettering, the words the gospel according to Luke. And it moved me to think about this man, Luke, patiently and systematically interviewing eyewitness after eyewitness to write down this big story in 2 volumes.
Jeffrey Heine:
1st, the gospel according to Luke, and then the second volume, the Acts of the Apostles. In today's passage, in our series, Going Through the Acts of the Apostles, it was written down by Luke, and it was a story that he would have heard many times throughout his life. He would have heard it firsthand from the man who discipled him as a Christian, a man Luke would have known by the name of Paul. But before we can talk about Paul, we need to situate ourselves in Luke's story, and we need to meet Paul when he was still known as Saul. In the last few chapters, Luke has been describing for us the evangelistic journey of a deacon named Philip.
Jeffrey Heine:
First, Philip goes north and is witnessing in the city of Samaria, where other Greek Christians had fled after Stephen's execution, Stephen, another deacon. Philip preached the gospel to the Samaritans. They were a group of, of people who had split off from the Jewish people in Jerusalem about 600 years earlier, and they had intermarried with other people groups. They were considered outsiders, outcasts. But many of these Samaritans heard the gospel that Philip was preaching, and they believed in Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
Simon, the magician, believed and was baptized. Many others believed, and there was great joy in the city of Samaria. Contrast that with Jerusalem, where there was now great fear and unrest from the persecution. This is wild, what's happening in Samaria, both because there are so many new believers in Jesus, the the gospel is going out, but also because these new believers are Samaritans, the ethnic group despised by many in Jerusalem. Peter and John took off to see what was going on.
Jeffrey Heine:
They go, and they pray for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The fact that God was doing this should not have been a surprise to the disciples, because this is exactly what Jesus said they were going to be doing in the Great Commission. But now these disciples are seeing the mission of God begin to spread. It's unfolding in front of them, and it's motivating to them. It is encouraging to them.
Jeffrey Heine:
And we see this because on their way back home to Jerusalem, Peter and John stop off and share the good news of Jesus in Samaritan towns along the way. Next, Philip goes southwest to Gaza. We looked at that last week. And along the way, he meets the Ethiopian eunuch who repents, who comes to Jesus and is baptized. And then Philip is taken by the spirit north to Azathus and then finally to Caesarea, and Paul or Luke is going to pause this story of Philip at this point.
Jeffrey Heine:
We will catch back up with Philip later on when Paul and Luke visit him in Caesarea, where, he has started a family. His daughters were prophets. It's a pretty good gig if you can get it. Luke then turns his attention from the evangelistic work of the apostles, and he focuses on a zealot named Saul. While Philip had been going long distances on assignment from God to preach the good news about Jesus, Saul had been going long distances on assignment from the high priest to arrest those who preach and believe the good news about Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
And Luke says that Saul has been ravaging the church, going house to house, dragging men and women off to prison because they followed Jesus. Luke referenced Saul in the account of Stephen's execution in Acts 7 and 8, writing, then they cast Stephen out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
Jeffrey Heine:
And when he had said this, he fell asleep, and Saul approved of the execution. See, now in Acts 9, Luke is zooming in on this Saul, who there at the execution of Stephen acted as the coat check boy to hold on to the garments, the cloaks, the outer garments that these men were wearing so they could take those off. He held them while they picked up rocks and threw them until Stephen died. You see, as he stood there holding these coats so they could throw harder and faster, he approved. He liked what he saw going on in front of him.
Jeffrey Heine:
Acts chapter 9 verse 1. 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. Luke is saying, yes. God has been at work in the city of Samaria and in Gaza. God was bringing unexpected conversions to people like Simon the magician and the Ethiopian eunuch.
Jeffrey Heine:
There was joy coming to the distant cities as the good news of Jesus went out, but on the heels of that joy, there was persecution. Persecution was coming to those distant cities. And one man who was leading the charge in that persecution was Saul. Saul was breathing, giving life to threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus. How much hate does it take?
Jeffrey Heine:
How much hate does it take to want to travel, to apprehend these Christians, to deliver them for imprisonment, some of them even to be executed? Saul believed that it was his duty to purge the synagogues of the preaching of this Jesus and all of his followers, and so he goes to the high priest asking for letters, for permission slips to go and arrest these Christians. He's volunteering to go on this mission, this operation to hunt down these Christians. Saul is willing to travel 5, 6 days, over a 135 miles, all because he hated these Christians, and he believed that his hate was righteous and godly, and that the execution of these men and women was a a holy and just purging. It takes a lot of hate for Saul to ravage the church.
Jeffrey Heine:
It takes a lot of hate to bring such severe havoc to the church. But that hatred is what set Saul on his journey to Damascus, to bring back Christian men and women to Jerusalem for punishment. And so now, with his buttoned men in tow, Saul takes off. And as they are getting closer to the city of Damascus, a light, a light from heaven, suddenly shone around Saul and his travel mates. Saul falls to the ground, and he is confronted by this blinding light, a light so bright it is it's tearing into the darkness around Saul, and he hears a voice.
Jeffrey Heine:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And it's obvious from Saul's actions that he hated Christians, but ultimately, truly, it was Jesus that he hated. I know that many of you are familiar with the Jesus storybook Bible by Sallie Lloyd Jones. It's still one of my favorite things to read to my kids. There is a chapter in the book on the conversion of Saul.
Jeffrey Heine:
And in the telling of his conversion, there is my favorite line in the whole book. I still remember the first time that I came to it, reading to little baby June, and I stopped in my tracks. It says this, Saul hated Jesus, but Saul had never met Jesus, so Jesus met Saul. Jesus met Saul, and he asked him, why are you persecuting me? How is it that Saul is persecuting Jesus?
Jeffrey Heine:
I think in two ways. 1st, the reason that he's even persecuting these Christians is because of their message, this gospel, this news that they are telling, this message about Jesus. And the second way is that the people of God are so truly the body of Christ that when someone persecutes them, Jesus is being persecuted. Jesus asks him, why are you persecuting me? Saul responds with a question, who are you?
Jeffrey Heine:
Not the best response. The voice responds, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. So Saul got up, and even though he had his eyes open now, he couldn't see anything. The men traveling with Saul, the muscle that came along to bind Christians and lead them to the city of Jerusalem, those men were now leading Saul into the city of Damascus.
Jeffrey Heine:
And for 3 days, he couldn't see. For 3 days, he didn't eat, he didn't drink. Picture him. Struck blind in his eyes, but seeing the world for the very first time, seeing that Jesus is the son of God, seeing that every threat that He had threatened and every act of persecution was persecuting this Son of God, seeing for the very first time that he was not the righteous zealot that he thought he was. Instead, he is a sinner whose only hope is this Jesus he has hated.
Jeffrey Heine:
There's a man in Damascus who was a disciple of Jesus. His name was Ananias, not that one. Jesus spoke to Ananias in a vision. Jesus said, Ananias. Ananias responded, here I am, Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:
That's the better response. Jesus says to Ananias, rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. For behold, he is praying, and he has seen a vision of a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here, he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. Notice that Ananias didn't say no.
Jeffrey Heine:
He just wanted to clarify, to make sure that Jesus was really sure about this plan, to go visit this evil man who had traveled all the way to Damascus just to arrest Christians. Jesus responds, 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. That was enough for Ananias to know that God had a plan. God had a plan for this soul, that he was going to be an instrument, that he was going to be sent, commissioned out to preach to the Gentiles, to stand before kings, and to preach to the children of Israel. That was enough for Ananias, and he went out, and he found the road called Straight.
Jeffrey Heine:
It was and still is today a busy street in Damascus. Ananias went to the home of Judas, not that one. And he found Saul. The first word that we have recorded that is spoken to the zealous, hateful persecutor Saul after Jesus has met him is when Ananias walks in and calls Saul brother. Never forget that your most wicked and hateful enemy might soon become your brother or your sister through the untamable power of Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
That means how you respond to your enemy today matters, because he might be your brother tomorrow. Ananias obeys Jesus. He walks into Judas' home on a straight street, and he sees Saul. He walks up, and he lays his hands on him. Remember, Saul set off to Damascus to lay hold of Christians for imprisonment, and instead, a Christian now lays hold of Saul.
Jeffrey Heine:
And laying hands on him, Ananias says, 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. And immediately, doctor Luke says, something like scales fell from Paul's eyes, and he regained his sight. And then Paul got up, and he was baptized, and he ate, and he was strengthened, and he spent the next couple of days with the disciples in Damascus. And he went to the synagogues, and he proclaimed, saying, Jesus is the son of God. And everyone who heard him was amazed, and they said, is this not the man who made havoc in Jerusalem, of those who called upon the name of Jesus?
Jeffrey Heine:
And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? But Paul kept getting stronger and bolder, and he kept going to the synagogues. And Luke says that Paul confounded the people who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. That's what happened to Saul. Jesus met him where he was, and everything changed.
Jeffrey Heine:
You know, this conversion story is quite unique. Jesus didn't really ask him a bunch of questions outside of, why are you persecuting me? And then when Saul responds, asking, who are you? And g Jesus reveals himself. He says who he is, and then he starts giving orders.
Jeffrey Heine:
That's his conversion. He was overwhelmed, overcome, overridden by the grace and mercy of Jesus. The last thing that Paul wanted was to believe in Jesus. But now, through that overwhelming, over coming, overriding grace and mercy of Jesus, Saul loves him for it. In fact, he will introduce himself.
Jeffrey Heine:
His business card from here on will say, I am Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus. That's who I am. From here on, every word that we read from the Apostle Paul should be read in light of this encounter with Jesus. We can see it in the background of every passage, the the one that we started off with in Galatians, when when Paul writes to the Galatians and he tells them that God set him apart before he was born and called him by his grace, he's talking about what happened when Jesus met him. When Paul writes to the Romans, and he tells them that we need more than just morality and acting better, more than just better behavior, when he tells them that we need a complete transformation of our minds, he's talking about what happened when Jesus met him.
Jeffrey Heine:
When Paul tells the Corinthians, I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. He's talking about what happened when Jesus met him and when he tells the Ephesians, God chose us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons and daughters through Christ. He's talking about what happened when Jesus met him.
Jeffrey Heine:
So the question that comes to each one of us tonight is, has what happened to Saul happened to you? Perhaps you haven't seen a blinding light or heard an audible voice from heaven. Maybe you haven't gone from being a ruthless persecutor of the church to an apostle, but but I'm asking, have you breathed the brew the breath of new life in Christ? Have you breathed the breath of trust and comfort that while you do not know everything, you know that you are known by God? Have you found yourself?
Jeffrey Heine:
Have you ever thought about Lazarus when he came to? He was he was in a tomb. The last thing he knew, he wasn't feeling well. And now, air begins to fill fill up his lungs as he hears the voice of the one he loves calling him by name. Have you heard that voice call your name?
Jeffrey Heine:
Found yourself gasping in the dark, wondering what in the world just happened, but knowing, at the very least, knowing that you are known by god. Have you crossed over from death to life? Have you been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of the sun? In short, has Jesus met you? The true miracle of Paul's conversion was not the blinding light.
Jeffrey Heine:
It wasn't the vision or the audible voice. It was the transformation of a dead heart of stone to a living heart of flesh. It was an enemy of God becoming a child of God. It was new birth by the Spirit. When eternity touched the temporary and the gift of eternal life was given without merit, without condition, the only requirement necessary to receive the gift of salvation was yet another gift, the gift of faith, the gift to believe.
Jeffrey Heine:
Paul didn't convert after assessing the pros and cons of Christianity. He wasn't taking a gamble, taking a risk, accepting Pascal's wager that I guess it's better to believe, just in case. He wasn't trying Jesus out just to see if it works for him. Paul's hope was that Jesus had come to him. It was that he was known by Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
Somehow, I made it to this age in life where I had not previously read The Chronicles of Narnia, but now that I have an 8 year old, we've been making our way through this year. And we are now in book 5, and in that, there is a character that's been to Narnia before named Edmund. And there's another character that's never been there before named Eustace, and and they are standing there, and they see in the distance this great lion, Aslan. Aslan is the Jesus character. Spoiler alert.
Jeffrey Heine:
It came out 70 years ago. But all the same, they see this great line in the distance, and Eustace says, do you know Aslan? Edmund responds, he knows me. When we talk about the hope that Paul has, it is not the hope of all that he has done or all that he knows. His hope is that he is known by Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
When Paul says to the Philippians, not that I have already obtained always acting righteously or that I am already perfect, I'm gonna press on to make righteous obedience my own. Why? So he's talking about morality, obedience, following Jesus. He's talking about righteous behavior. He's saying, I'm not perfect yet, but I'm gonna pursue living righteously.
Jeffrey Heine:
Why? Because Jesus has made me his own. That's his hope. Jesus has made Paul his own. He came to him where he was, and he rescued him.
Jeffrey Heine:
Has what happened to Saul happened to you? When I was a teenager and I could still fill my, VW bug up with gas for under $15, I would drive around my hometown for hours. As soon as I would get out of school, I'd jump in the car, pop in a tape in the car stereo, and I would drive. I'm sorry, a tape is like, I don't even know. I don't know.
Jeffrey Heine:
Something to do with magnets? I'm really not sure. But I was going nowhere and loving it. My car was my little world away from the world, and I'd often find myself unintentionally driving to the same destinations. You might have found yourself in a similar situation before.
Jeffrey Heine:
If I was confused or mad or angry or sad about something, I'd often find myself driving down to the riverfront on the banks of Kentucky that looked across to southern Illinois. And I'd find myself going to the same place and finding comfort in the familiar places. I do the same thing in the bible. I often go to the same places for comfort and words of peace. Are there certain parts of the Bible that you find yourself revisiting over and over again, perhaps in times of frustration or struggle, heartache, suffering or doubt.
Jeffrey Heine:
Through the years, I often find myself going back to the conversion of Paul. There's something about this wild story of conversion that gives me a wild hopefulness about my own. I'd like to share with you 3 situations when I find resilient hopefulness in Paul's conversion. Number 1, when I think my salvation depends on me. The last thing in the world that Paul wanted was to follow Jesus, but what Jesus wanted mattered more.
Jeffrey Heine:
The second, it's when I think my disobedience disqualifies me. Paul's disobedience mattered, but Jesus' obedience mattered more. And 3rd, when I think my faith is not enough. You see, Paul didn't believe because Paul was enough. Paul believed because Jesus is enough.
Jeffrey Heine:
If you are weighing or questioning the validity or the questioning the sincerity of your faith based on what you know or what you do, rather than who knows you and what he has done, you will always feel like your faith is not enough. Faith in Christ is rooted, 1st and foremost, in being met by Jesus, in being known by him. You love Him because He first loved you. You know Him because He first knew you, and you met him because he first met you. Jesus is not some image on our TV or an idea in our memories.
Jeffrey Heine:
No. He's not a mere theory or a better way of living. He is the resurrected Son of the living God, and He meets us in our sin and our death, and He rescues us with His grace, and He brings us righteousness and life, life with Him forever. Like Paul, Jesus set you apart before you were born, and like Paul, He has called you by His grace, and like Paul, Jesus called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. By the grace of God, you are what you are, and His grace toward you was not, is not, and never will be in vain.
Jeffrey Heine:
Your confession, your repentance, your receiving Christ, they are not the cause of His grace. They are because of His grace. They are the responses to His work of grace in your life. They are the responses to the power of God's promises being applied to you. You repent.
Jeffrey Heine:
You turn. You pray. You receive, all in response to all God has done for you in Christ already. It takes a lot of love for God to ravage our souls and bring havoc to all of our sin, Has what happened to Saul happened to you? If your answer is yes, then everything has changed.
Jeffrey Heine:
You are not your own. You were bought with a price, the very blood of God. And you, like Paul, have a firm foundation, and you will not be shaken. You, like Paul, have a love that will not let you go. If your answer is no or I don't know, then my prayer for you tonight is that today would indeed be a a day of salvation for you, that you would turn to Jesus and trust him, not trust all the things that you know because you might not know everything, but you can know that you are known by Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
And I believe that he is already at work in you. How do I know that? Because you're here. You're here, and you have heard tonight the good news that Jesus alone can save. He is at work, and he receives everyone who comes to him in faith.
Jeffrey Heine:
He turns away no one. If you find yourself wondering about this Jesus that met Saul, I encourage you not to walk away from those questions until you've chased down those answers. And the brothers and sisters in this room are here to help. Today, may the risen lord Jesus Christ meet each and every one of us wherever we might be, and may we find life and hope in him. Let's pray.
Jeffrey Heine:
Lord, I pray for each and every one of us here in this room. Spirit, would you help us to be honest with ourselves and honest with you, to take serious the question has what has happened to Saul happened to me? And to linger long enough to give an answer. Lord, I pray for the the brothers and sisters in this room that you have met those who know you because you have known them first. I pray that you would give them strength to believe, that you would fortify their faith even in this moment, that they would trust you, that they would love you, and that the the desire of their heart would be to obey you with every step.
Jeffrey Heine:
Lord, I pray for those who answer no or I don't even know. Lord, I pray that you would meet them in this very moment, that they would see the world as it is for the very first time, that you, Jesus, are king and that you are enough. So, lord, lead us, be with us in this time that we might respond to your gospel with every inch of our hearts. We pray these things in the name of the father, and the son, and the holy spirit. Amen.