1 00:00:02,402 --> 00:00:05,388 Acts 9:1–19 2 00:00:05,922 --> 00:00:08,792 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder 3 00:00:08,792 --> 00:00:12,912 against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him 4 00:00:12,912 --> 00:00:17,600 for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging 5 00:00:17,634 --> 00:00:21,755 to the way men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 6 00:00:22,789 --> 00:00:25,875 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, 7 00:00:25,875 --> 00:00:31,314 and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him, and falling to the ground, 8 00:00:31,314 --> 00:00:34,751 he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, 9 00:00:35,118 --> 00:00:38,121 why are you persecuting me? 10 00:00:38,188 --> 00:00:41,191 And he said, who are you, Lord? 11 00:00:41,307 --> 00:00:45,879 And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 12 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,834 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do. 13 00:00:51,751 --> 00:00:55,472 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, 14 00:00:55,472 --> 00:00:59,109 but seeing no one saw, rose from the ground, 15 00:00:59,109 --> 00:01:02,112 and although his eyes were open, he saw nothing. 16 00:01:02,595 --> 00:01:06,232 So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 17 00:01:07,233 --> 00:01:08,668 And for three days he 18 00:01:08,668 --> 00:01:11,921 was without sight, and neither eight nor drank. 19 00:01:12,589 --> 00:01:15,909 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named in Annius. 20 00:01:16,392 --> 00:01:19,162 The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. 21 00:01:19,162 --> 00:01:22,148 And he said, here I am, Lord. 22 00:01:22,549 --> 00:01:26,953 And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called straight. 23 00:01:27,036 --> 00:01:30,990 And at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,595 For behold, he is praying, and he is seen in a vision. 25 00:01:35,595 --> 00:01:39,149 A man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, 26 00:01:39,149 --> 00:01:42,152 so that he may regain his sight. 27 00:01:42,519 --> 00:01:47,307 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, 28 00:01:47,307 --> 00:01:50,710 how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 29 00:01:50,794 --> 00:01:52,562 And here he has authority 30 00:01:52,562 --> 00:01:56,549 from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name. 31 00:01:56,833 --> 00:02:01,271 But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine, 32 00:02:01,321 --> 00:02:06,309 to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. 33 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:08,795 For I will show him how 34 00:02:08,795 --> 00:02:11,798 much he must suffer for the sake of my name. 35 00:02:12,715 --> 00:02:15,752 So Ananias departed and entered the house, 36 00:02:15,835 --> 00:02:18,988 and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, 37 00:02:19,873 --> 00:02:22,275 the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road 38 00:02:22,275 --> 00:02:26,279 by which you came, has sent me, so that you may regain your sight 39 00:02:26,312 --> 00:02:29,315 and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 40 00:02:29,549 --> 00:02:33,036 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, 41 00:02:33,036 --> 00:02:34,554 and he regained his sight. 42 00:02:34,554 --> 00:02:38,308 Then he rose and was baptized, and taking food 43 00:02:38,308 --> 00:02:41,311 he was strengthened. 44 00:02:42,395 --> 00:02:44,430 Hey everybody, welcome to. 45 00:02:44,430 --> 00:02:45,281 My name is Joe. 46 00:02:45,281 --> 00:02:48,551 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm glad you've come. 47 00:02:49,352 --> 00:02:49,636 All right. 48 00:02:49,636 --> 00:02:52,522 This is the seventh week of our ten week series. 49 00:02:52,522 --> 00:02:56,359 In the book of acts, we're calling this room for more. 50 00:02:56,993 --> 00:03:00,163 We're actually taking a closer look at the beginnings 51 00:03:00,163 --> 00:03:04,317 of this phenomenon we call the church. 52 00:03:04,751 --> 00:03:07,387 And it really is pretty amazing. 53 00:03:07,387 --> 00:03:10,907 In acts chapter one, the church starts with a handful of peasants 54 00:03:10,907 --> 00:03:14,077 with no money, no education, no power. 55 00:03:14,427 --> 00:03:19,716 And by acts chapter 28, Christians have spread all over the Roman Empire. 56 00:03:19,749 --> 00:03:23,953 There's a church in every major city, even in Rome, 57 00:03:23,953 --> 00:03:28,441 and there are some Christians who are in the household of Caesar. 58 00:03:29,042 --> 00:03:30,910 I mean, it's amazing. 59 00:03:30,910 --> 00:03:34,514 Both this week and next week, we're going to 60 00:03:34,547 --> 00:03:37,550 hopefully get insights into the power 61 00:03:37,867 --> 00:03:41,321 of this worldwide movement. 62 00:03:41,721 --> 00:03:47,310 You just listen to the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, 63 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,749 probably the most famous conversion story in all the Bible, and I say conversion, 64 00:03:52,749 --> 00:03:59,239 but it was actually more than that because the transformation was so complete 65 00:03:59,389 --> 00:04:03,960 that it actually changed his name from Saul of Tarsus 66 00:04:03,993 --> 00:04:06,996 to Paul the Apostle. 67 00:04:07,113 --> 00:04:12,068 Paul would write in a letter to the church in Corinth years later. 68 00:04:12,068 --> 00:04:16,990 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 69 00:04:17,390 --> 00:04:18,875 The old has passed away. 70 00:04:18,875 --> 00:04:22,478 Behold, all things have become new. 71 00:04:23,396 --> 00:04:26,549 Christianity makes an extraordinary claim 72 00:04:26,633 --> 00:04:30,720 that a relationship with Jesus doesn't just make your life better, 73 00:04:31,871 --> 00:04:33,790 it makes you new. 74 00:04:33,790 --> 00:04:38,428 And no one understood that better than Paul. 75 00:04:39,312 --> 00:04:43,833 The title of this message is The Church is Transformational. 76 00:04:43,883 --> 00:04:46,869 And here are the three points that I want to use to 77 00:04:46,869 --> 00:04:49,872 just guide our our time. 78 00:04:50,073 --> 00:04:55,311 Transformation happens when the process becomes a moment 79 00:04:55,428 --> 00:05:00,833 when God becomes the real God, and finally when you become the real you, 80 00:05:01,601 --> 00:05:06,389 when the process becomes a moment, when God becomes the real God, 81 00:05:06,389 --> 00:05:11,561 when you become the real you first the process becomes a moment. 82 00:05:12,161 --> 00:05:15,915 I'm really glad this isn't the only conversion story in the book of acts. 83 00:05:16,032 --> 00:05:20,837 I mean, just last week, Zach covered the Ethiopian eunuch 84 00:05:20,870 --> 00:05:23,873 who actually was converted while reading the Book of Isaiah. 85 00:05:23,873 --> 00:05:25,641 Much less dramatic. 86 00:05:25,641 --> 00:05:27,043 The reason I'm glad this isn't 87 00:05:27,043 --> 00:05:30,563 the only conversion stories, because it's so dramatic. 88 00:05:30,830 --> 00:05:34,067 I've actually had people use it to tell me, to explain to me 89 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:37,070 why they are not a Christian. 90 00:05:37,203 --> 00:05:39,839 They'll say, I need what Paul got. 91 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:45,161 I mean, if if I saw a bright light and Jesus spoke to me in an audible voice 92 00:05:45,161 --> 00:05:47,280 and knocked me to the ground, I was blind for three days. 93 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:49,949 Then I become a Christian. Right? 94 00:05:49,949 --> 00:05:53,669 And what they're doing is they're not just justifying why they're not a Christian. 95 00:05:53,669 --> 00:05:57,190 They're also explaining to me why they're never be a Christian 96 00:05:57,673 --> 00:06:01,711 because they're actually saying, listen, I've told God what I need. 97 00:06:01,761 --> 00:06:04,080 If he doesn't give it to me, it's not my fault. 98 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:07,033 It's his fault. Right. 99 00:06:07,033 --> 00:06:10,203 But in any conversion, there's always a process. 100 00:06:10,837 --> 00:06:14,357 And then a moment, it's almost like marriage. 101 00:06:14,791 --> 00:06:16,709 You know, marriage is a process. 102 00:06:16,709 --> 00:06:20,596 First you form a relationship, you start to get close, 103 00:06:20,596 --> 00:06:22,715 and then you finally fall in love. 104 00:06:22,715 --> 00:06:27,070 You may not know when you fell in love, but then comes the moment 105 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:28,955 when you get married. 106 00:06:28,955 --> 00:06:33,309 Like, you might forget your anniversary date, but you always know 107 00:06:33,309 --> 00:06:36,913 that at one point you weren't married and now you are married. 108 00:06:36,963 --> 00:06:40,516 That's the moment you went with conversion. 109 00:06:40,516 --> 00:06:42,718 It's the same. There's always a process. 110 00:06:42,718 --> 00:06:46,722 And then a moment, you know, we read about Paul 111 00:06:46,722 --> 00:06:49,992 and it seems like his conversion is so dramatic 112 00:06:49,992 --> 00:06:54,030 and so sudden that there's no process, that at one point 113 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,717 he is breathing threats and murder and trying to kill Christians. 114 00:06:57,717 --> 00:07:02,789 And the next moment he is converted and become a Christian himself. 115 00:07:03,673 --> 00:07:05,992 But there's always a process. 116 00:07:07,894 --> 00:07:08,428 This is 117 00:07:08,428 --> 00:07:11,431 a this is a happening place right now. 118 00:07:12,432 --> 00:07:13,916 All right. 119 00:07:13,916 --> 00:07:18,921 And for Paul, the the the process was one that started 120 00:07:18,955 --> 00:07:23,042 both the Holy Spirit working inside and outside. 121 00:07:23,075 --> 00:07:26,762 First, when I say the Holy Spirit was working inside, 122 00:07:26,879 --> 00:07:32,752 when you start this chapter, chapter nine, you realize that Paul is super hostile. 123 00:07:33,035 --> 00:07:34,320 I mean, more hostile the most. 124 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,356 Something is eating him up and gaining ground, 125 00:07:37,356 --> 00:07:41,511 and he is desperately trying to handle it right. 126 00:07:41,511 --> 00:07:44,147 He is anything but content. 127 00:07:44,147 --> 00:07:45,431 He is angry. 128 00:07:45,431 --> 00:07:48,067 He is frustrated. He is unhappy. 129 00:07:48,067 --> 00:07:52,472 His soul is unhealthy to the point where it's leaking 130 00:07:53,039 --> 00:07:56,042 to stuff that he doesn't even like. 131 00:07:56,759 --> 00:08:00,796 It's fascinating to me that later on, after his transformation, 132 00:08:00,796 --> 00:08:05,968 he would write in Philippians that he had learned the secret of being content. 133 00:08:06,002 --> 00:08:07,203 This is what he says. 134 00:08:07,203 --> 00:08:09,355 Not that I'm speaking of being in need for. 135 00:08:09,355 --> 00:08:13,042 I've learned in whatever situation I'm in to be content. 136 00:08:13,159 --> 00:08:16,963 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound in any 137 00:08:16,963 --> 00:08:17,947 in every circumstance. 138 00:08:17,947 --> 00:08:23,503 I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 139 00:08:23,519 --> 00:08:27,757 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 140 00:08:28,791 --> 00:08:32,161 I have met a lot of unhappy people. 141 00:08:32,762 --> 00:08:35,598 People are unhappy with their relationships, people 142 00:08:35,598 --> 00:08:39,435 who thought their lives would be different than they actually are. 143 00:08:39,802 --> 00:08:41,587 You probably have two. 144 00:08:41,587 --> 00:08:44,390 You might be one of them. 145 00:08:44,390 --> 00:08:48,961 And one of the things that happens in that discontentment 146 00:08:48,961 --> 00:08:53,199 is that God is doing something inside of us. 147 00:08:53,399 --> 00:08:54,467 I mean, that's 148 00:08:54,467 --> 00:08:58,120 you can get to the point where you don't even like yourself most of the time. 149 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,307 That's exactly where I was as a sophomore in college, right 150 00:09:01,307 --> 00:09:04,560 before I committed my life to Jesus. 151 00:09:04,594 --> 00:09:08,915 I tried to fill myself up with everything that would make a college kid 152 00:09:08,948 --> 00:09:13,402 happy, and instead of filling up, I became empty, right? 153 00:09:13,636 --> 00:09:18,190 So there's this process of becoming less and less 154 00:09:18,190 --> 00:09:22,595 content with who you are and what you are becoming. 155 00:09:22,962 --> 00:09:26,232 But there's also usually, if you're in the process of God, 156 00:09:26,232 --> 00:09:30,403 drawing you to himself is also something that happens on the outside. 157 00:09:30,519 --> 00:09:33,823 We have an experience that surprises you. 158 00:09:33,839 --> 00:09:37,276 Someone acts in a way you don't expect them to act in a way 159 00:09:37,276 --> 00:09:42,031 that you find difficult to kind of ignore. 160 00:09:42,148 --> 00:09:45,668 For Paul, that was the death of Stephen. 161 00:09:46,469 --> 00:09:51,240 Like he was there when Stephen was stoned and he watched Stephen acts. 162 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:54,794 Chapter seven will say that when Stephen was dying, 163 00:09:54,794 --> 00:09:59,632 his face became like the face of an angel, that he had peace, 164 00:09:59,632 --> 00:10:06,038 that he died with grace, that at the very end he said, I see Jesus. 165 00:10:06,122 --> 00:10:10,793 And that messed Paul up in a good way. 166 00:10:11,394 --> 00:10:14,230 I got an email a couple of weeks ago 167 00:10:14,230 --> 00:10:17,033 from a guy who said, I don't go to your church. 168 00:10:17,033 --> 00:10:21,354 I'm not sure I believe in God, but I'm asking you 169 00:10:21,354 --> 00:10:24,357 if you will meet with me, because this is what he said. 170 00:10:24,674 --> 00:10:27,677 Because I went to a funeral at your church. 171 00:10:27,910 --> 00:10:31,113 It happened to be the funeral of a young woman named Sarah. 172 00:10:32,748 --> 00:10:34,266 Sarah was in her 30s. 173 00:10:34,266 --> 00:10:36,352 She was three young children. 174 00:10:36,352 --> 00:10:38,838 She died of cancer. Pretty tragic. 175 00:10:38,838 --> 00:10:42,041 This guy came to the funeral expecting it to be tragic. 176 00:10:42,041 --> 00:10:45,828 He did not expect her husband, Jesse to stand up, 177 00:10:45,878 --> 00:10:47,947 eulogize his wife in a beautiful way. 178 00:10:47,947 --> 00:10:52,435 But talk about her hope and a talk about her faith. 179 00:10:52,435 --> 00:10:55,554 Talk about her joy, and at the same time, 180 00:10:55,588 --> 00:10:58,958 talk about his faith, his hope, his joy. 181 00:10:58,958 --> 00:11:02,595 And it has met this guy up in a good way. 182 00:11:02,595 --> 00:11:05,915 So much so that he would email a pastor he doesn't know 183 00:11:06,482 --> 00:11:08,517 and say, would you please meet with me? 184 00:11:08,517 --> 00:11:13,639 Because I'm finally open to the idea there may be a God because something 185 00:11:13,639 --> 00:11:19,078 has been happening in him and something happened outside of him. 186 00:11:19,762 --> 00:11:22,114 When Paul is talking about his conversion 187 00:11:22,114 --> 00:11:27,753 and acts chapter 26, he quotes Jesus as saying to him during that time, 188 00:11:27,953 --> 00:11:31,507 is it hard for you to kick against the goads? 189 00:11:31,907 --> 00:11:36,395 A goad was a sharp stick that shepherds would use to to poke 190 00:11:36,429 --> 00:11:38,831 sheep, to keep them from going deeper into danger, 191 00:11:38,831 --> 00:11:41,834 to get them to go where they want them to go. 192 00:11:42,635 --> 00:11:45,988 Jesus is saying to Paul, that's what I've been doing to you. 193 00:11:46,188 --> 00:11:47,907 I've been leading you. 194 00:11:47,907 --> 00:11:49,875 That's what sometimes that's what 195 00:11:49,875 --> 00:11:53,779 it feels like to be in the process that God has for you. 196 00:11:53,796 --> 00:11:58,150 There's a discontentment, there's an anger, frustration, maybe even confusion. 197 00:11:58,150 --> 00:12:01,721 And then you see somebody who has something in their life 198 00:12:01,721 --> 00:12:07,309 that you don't have, and you begin to wonder if that's possible for you. 199 00:12:07,359 --> 00:12:08,677 That's the process. 200 00:12:08,677 --> 00:12:13,032 But there's also always a moment when you finally say 201 00:12:13,032 --> 00:12:16,719 yes to Jesus, when you surrender, when you tap out. 202 00:12:16,719 --> 00:12:21,240 This is what it says in verse 20 of chapter nine. 203 00:12:21,841 --> 00:12:25,828 It says, and immediately Paul proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue, saying, 204 00:12:25,828 --> 00:12:29,882 he is the Son of God, right? 205 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:32,234 If you say, 206 00:12:32,234 --> 00:12:35,871 I've always been married, you're wrong. 207 00:12:36,639 --> 00:12:40,843 Saying you've always been a Christian is like saying, you've always been married. 208 00:12:40,843 --> 00:12:42,878 You haven't been. 209 00:12:42,878 --> 00:12:46,682 If you're here right now and you feel like 210 00:12:47,349 --> 00:12:50,436 maybe I skipped that step of a moment, I feel like 211 00:12:50,436 --> 00:12:55,241 I believe in Jesus, but I never surrendered that. 212 00:12:55,241 --> 00:12:58,561 You should do that right here, right now. 213 00:12:59,428 --> 00:13:00,563 You know, to tell Jesus. 214 00:13:00,563 --> 00:13:02,798 Jesus, I'm sorry I skipped that step. 215 00:13:02,798 --> 00:13:04,150 I need to ask you. 216 00:13:04,150 --> 00:13:06,469 Will you be my savior? 217 00:13:06,469 --> 00:13:07,953 Will you forgive me? 218 00:13:07,953 --> 00:13:11,073 I give myself completely to you. 219 00:13:11,757 --> 00:13:13,442 You need a moment. 220 00:13:13,442 --> 00:13:18,030 Transformation happens after conversion and conversion. 221 00:13:18,030 --> 00:13:21,400 There was always a process and a moment. 222 00:13:21,467 --> 00:13:23,068 That's the first step. 223 00:13:23,068 --> 00:13:26,472 Second thing that happens with transformation is God becomes 224 00:13:26,472 --> 00:13:28,390 the real God. 225 00:13:28,390 --> 00:13:31,877 When God gives the Ten Commandments, the first two are about him. 226 00:13:31,877 --> 00:13:34,163 He says, don't have any other gods before me. 227 00:13:34,163 --> 00:13:36,715 And number two, don't make any idols, right? 228 00:13:36,715 --> 00:13:39,068 An idol is a made up God. 229 00:13:39,068 --> 00:13:44,123 It's a God that you you fashion that makes sense to you. 230 00:13:44,123 --> 00:13:48,561 And I think people do that all the time to God. 231 00:13:48,627 --> 00:13:50,479 I'm. I talk to people and they'll say, you know what? 232 00:13:50,479 --> 00:13:55,117 I can't believe in a God that would send people to hell for any reason. 233 00:13:55,201 --> 00:13:57,403 I believe in a God that loves everybody. 234 00:13:57,403 --> 00:14:00,439 That that that is okay with how everybody lives. 235 00:14:00,439 --> 00:14:03,392 I just believe in that God. 236 00:14:03,392 --> 00:14:06,428 And there's a there's a great verse in first John 237 00:14:06,428 --> 00:14:09,548 that says, God is greater than our hearts. 238 00:14:10,316 --> 00:14:15,321 If you have an idea of God in your heart 239 00:14:15,437 --> 00:14:20,392 and that God never disappoints you, never surprises you, 240 00:14:21,043 --> 00:14:25,748 never disagrees with you, then chances are you have a made up God. 241 00:14:26,115 --> 00:14:30,269 You're like an imaginary friend, an AI god, right? 242 00:14:30,319 --> 00:14:33,589 And and that God cannot save you, right? 243 00:14:34,356 --> 00:14:38,961 It drives me crazy that it seems like sometimes we treat God like he's Mr. 244 00:14:38,961 --> 00:14:39,995 Potato Head. 245 00:14:39,995 --> 00:14:41,680 Remember that, Mr. Potato Head? 246 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,433 You could take off the nose and put on one with with a mustache. 247 00:14:44,433 --> 00:14:48,037 It's like we we pass God around and we say, oh my God is like this. 248 00:14:48,037 --> 00:14:49,788 My God doesn't have this kind of knows. 249 00:14:49,788 --> 00:14:52,791 He's got angry eyes. Whatever. Right? 250 00:14:52,958 --> 00:14:54,243 It's crazy. 251 00:14:54,243 --> 00:14:57,830 I've met people for the first time who said, oh, 252 00:14:58,681 --> 00:15:01,667 they seen me like on, you know, 253 00:15:01,750 --> 00:15:04,203 I don't know, on screen somewhere. 254 00:15:04,203 --> 00:15:07,189 And they say, I thought you'd be taller. 255 00:15:07,189 --> 00:15:08,908 And I go, okay, that's right. 256 00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:12,962 But nobody ever comes up, comes up to me and says, you're not my Joe. 257 00:15:13,762 --> 00:15:16,832 I'd be going, no, there's only there's only the real Joe. 258 00:15:16,882 --> 00:15:19,752 There's no there's no like your Joe. 259 00:15:19,752 --> 00:15:22,237 Like I am what I am. 260 00:15:22,237 --> 00:15:24,840 That's what God is. 261 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,310 Paul thought he knew exactly what God was like. 262 00:15:28,477 --> 00:15:31,830 He was sure enough for him. 263 00:15:31,947 --> 00:15:33,282 Listen, he had been. 264 00:15:33,282 --> 00:15:37,519 He had memorized the thing called the shama, probably before he could read. 265 00:15:37,519 --> 00:15:41,156 And the Shema, two verses in the book of Deuteronomy. 266 00:15:41,290 --> 00:15:42,157 This is what it says. 267 00:15:42,157 --> 00:15:46,912 It says Hero Israel, the Lord your God is one, 268 00:15:47,279 --> 00:15:50,516 and you shall love the Lord your God. 269 00:15:50,549 --> 00:15:54,069 The reason Paul hated Christians is because 270 00:15:54,069 --> 00:15:57,156 Christians said that Jesus was more than a man. 271 00:15:57,189 --> 00:16:00,909 That Jesus was the Son of God, was God Himself. 272 00:16:00,909 --> 00:16:04,396 And he proved that by the resurrection. 273 00:16:04,747 --> 00:16:09,668 And Paul could not understand that at all. 274 00:16:10,269 --> 00:16:13,038 And then Jesus showed up. 275 00:16:13,038 --> 00:16:14,273 What's interesting to me 276 00:16:14,273 --> 00:16:18,761 is that when Jesus shows up with Paul, he knows what Paul's 277 00:16:18,761 --> 00:16:22,481 problem has been with him, and he doesn't explain the Trinity. 278 00:16:22,881 --> 00:16:24,833 Jesus doesn't go, hey, Paul, it's okay. 279 00:16:24,833 --> 00:16:27,553 We are one essence in three persons. 280 00:16:27,553 --> 00:16:29,838 I'll just go through this with you so you'll understand. 281 00:16:29,838 --> 00:16:32,708 No, he just says I'm alive. 282 00:16:33,759 --> 00:16:34,076 Paul. 283 00:16:34,076 --> 00:16:35,828 That's enough. 284 00:16:35,828 --> 00:16:37,312 And it was. 285 00:16:37,312 --> 00:16:41,917 Paul probably had a bunch of questions, like he had tons of questions 286 00:16:41,917 --> 00:16:46,755 about what this meant, but the fact that Jesus was resurrected 287 00:16:46,872 --> 00:16:49,908 meant that Jesus was who he said he was, 288 00:16:49,992 --> 00:16:53,629 and that changed his whole idea of God. 289 00:16:53,679 --> 00:16:57,483 And God became the real God. 290 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,438 You know, one of the things I always try to remind myself 291 00:17:02,438 --> 00:17:06,442 when I'm talking with people is that when somebody in a process 292 00:17:06,442 --> 00:17:10,396 of trying to understand God, they can get lost in weeds. 293 00:17:10,396 --> 00:17:15,350 There are a lot of weeds they can get lost in, you know, evolution or creation. 294 00:17:15,350 --> 00:17:17,436 They can be lost in the weeds in the Old Testament 295 00:17:17,436 --> 00:17:18,787 and some of the things that happened 296 00:17:18,787 --> 00:17:22,758 in the Old Testament that can get lost and the problem of pain and suffering. 297 00:17:22,758 --> 00:17:25,627 And I always want to get them to the resurrection, just say, hey, 298 00:17:25,627 --> 00:17:29,798 you need to decide, did the resurrection happen or not? 299 00:17:29,832 --> 00:17:31,517 That's the question. 300 00:17:31,517 --> 00:17:34,620 Everything else is weeds, right? 301 00:17:34,636 --> 00:17:37,639 And I try to remind that's where I go, 302 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,876 because whether you realize it or not, 303 00:17:40,876 --> 00:17:44,163 there are different times with pastors where things are where, 304 00:17:45,514 --> 00:17:47,883 where God confuses me. 305 00:17:47,883 --> 00:17:51,470 When somebody dies who's young like Sarah, 306 00:17:53,122 --> 00:17:54,440 that bothers me. 307 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:55,841 And I write my journal. 308 00:17:55,841 --> 00:17:57,476 God, I don't understand you. 309 00:17:57,476 --> 00:18:01,396 Sometimes I don't understand why you don't intervene 310 00:18:01,396 --> 00:18:04,399 when it seems like you should intervene. 311 00:18:04,633 --> 00:18:06,718 I don't understand this right. 312 00:18:06,718 --> 00:18:11,356 And I'm in danger of trying to take God and make him so that it's okay. 313 00:18:11,356 --> 00:18:14,359 He's okay in my heart, 314 00:18:14,393 --> 00:18:17,162 and I don't let him be the real God. 315 00:18:17,162 --> 00:18:21,667 And so I then I go to the resurrection and I end up saying, 316 00:18:22,601 --> 00:18:24,870 Did Jesus resurrect or not? 317 00:18:24,870 --> 00:18:27,756 If he resurrected, everything else is weeds. 318 00:18:27,756 --> 00:18:31,710 Listen, if you're rejecting Christianity, make sure it's not because of the weeds. 319 00:18:32,995 --> 00:18:36,548 Make sure you look at the evidence for the resurrection. 320 00:18:36,715 --> 00:18:40,435 And even more than that, if you are going to be intellectually honest, 321 00:18:40,519 --> 00:18:43,071 you need to not only look at the evidence for the resurrection, 322 00:18:43,071 --> 00:18:46,842 you also have to come up with an alternative theory on what happened, 323 00:18:46,842 --> 00:18:48,560 because something happened to Jesus 324 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,681 and something happened to all his followers that transformed them, 325 00:18:52,681 --> 00:18:56,235 then transformed the world, including Paul. 326 00:18:56,268 --> 00:19:01,190 And they all pointed to the power of the resurrection that did it. 327 00:19:01,757 --> 00:19:04,359 Okay, so the first thing 328 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:08,430 transformation happens when a process becomes a moment. 329 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,350 Secondly, when God becomes the real God. 330 00:19:11,350 --> 00:19:14,036 And third is when you become the real you. 331 00:19:14,036 --> 00:19:18,190 And this is maybe my favorite point of this message. 332 00:19:18,674 --> 00:19:22,594 You know, chapter nine starts out with this saying, But Paul, still 333 00:19:22,628 --> 00:19:25,714 breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, 334 00:19:25,797 --> 00:19:30,152 went to the high priest, asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus. 335 00:19:30,202 --> 00:19:33,155 So if he found any belonging to the way men or women, 336 00:19:33,155 --> 00:19:36,158 he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 337 00:19:36,158 --> 00:19:38,310 Okay, it starts out he is just angry. 338 00:19:38,310 --> 00:19:41,947 He's hateful, he's trying to murder Christians and everything. 339 00:19:42,030 --> 00:19:47,636 And then by verse 20, he meets the resurrected Christ. 340 00:19:47,753 --> 00:19:49,721 He becomes a Christian. 341 00:19:49,721 --> 00:19:52,841 And then from chapter nine all the way to chapter 28, 342 00:19:52,875 --> 00:19:55,961 he becomes the main character of the whole book of acts. 343 00:19:56,595 --> 00:20:02,267 And what's fascinating to me is this the same mouth that was spewing 344 00:20:02,317 --> 00:20:06,555 threats and murder becomes the mouth that tells thousands of people 345 00:20:06,955 --> 00:20:12,027 about the love of Jesus, the same feet that we're going city to city 346 00:20:12,077 --> 00:20:16,348 trying to persecute Christians became the feet 347 00:20:16,348 --> 00:20:20,519 that would take him from city to city, planting churches, the same mind 348 00:20:20,953 --> 00:20:26,275 that was formerly forming arguments against Christianity became the greatest 349 00:20:26,275 --> 00:20:31,430 theological mind the world has ever seen in favor of Christianity. 350 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:32,714 This is my point. 351 00:20:34,082 --> 00:20:37,069 God transformed Paul, 352 00:20:37,202 --> 00:20:41,840 but he didn't, like, destroy Paul's personality. 353 00:20:42,507 --> 00:20:43,842 What he did was he. 354 00:20:43,842 --> 00:20:48,163 He took Paul and he redirected everything about him. 355 00:20:48,163 --> 00:20:52,200 He repurposed Paul, right? 356 00:20:52,234 --> 00:20:55,837 He still he didn't waste Paul's past. 357 00:20:55,871 --> 00:20:58,907 I Paul was educated. God used his education. 358 00:20:58,957 --> 00:21:01,393 Paul was passionate. God used his passion. 359 00:21:01,393 --> 00:21:03,712 Paul was courageous. God used his courage. 360 00:21:03,712 --> 00:21:05,881 Paul was relentless. 361 00:21:05,881 --> 00:21:08,867 God used his determination. 362 00:21:09,601 --> 00:21:10,235 That's my point. 363 00:21:10,235 --> 00:21:15,240 Sometimes people will look at something that what I do 364 00:21:15,274 --> 00:21:19,027 or what Pastor Zach does and they think, oh man, I could never stand 365 00:21:19,027 --> 00:21:22,547 in front of a crowd and give a sermon. 366 00:21:22,547 --> 00:21:26,001 So I can't really be used by God. 367 00:21:26,868 --> 00:21:28,787 And you're wrong. 368 00:21:28,787 --> 00:21:30,238 You're wrong. 369 00:21:30,238 --> 00:21:35,077 God doesn't start from scratch when he transforms you. 370 00:21:35,227 --> 00:21:37,479 He uses what? 371 00:21:37,479 --> 00:21:39,514 What do you love? 372 00:21:39,514 --> 00:21:41,833 Do you love sports? Do you love gardening? 373 00:21:41,833 --> 00:21:44,436 Do you love art? Do you love music? 374 00:21:44,436 --> 00:21:47,072 What are you good at? 375 00:21:47,072 --> 00:21:48,790 Are you good at at details? 376 00:21:48,790 --> 00:21:50,642 Are you good at? 377 00:21:50,642 --> 00:21:52,711 I don't caring for kids. 378 00:21:52,711 --> 00:21:57,599 Are you good at strategic thinking or good at working behind the scenes? 379 00:21:58,550 --> 00:22:02,437 God takes you and then repurposes you. 380 00:22:02,437 --> 00:22:05,240 I remember talking to, you know, we have a great band. 381 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,276 I mean, everybody's amazing in our band. 382 00:22:08,427 --> 00:22:11,797 And I was talking to one of the guitar players. 383 00:22:11,830 --> 00:22:17,152 I don't know, just maybe six months ago because he was playing all the time. 384 00:22:17,152 --> 00:22:20,639 And I was asking him and he's really good. 385 00:22:20,639 --> 00:22:23,642 And I said, how long have you been playing guitar? 386 00:22:23,792 --> 00:22:26,628 And he said, oh, I've been playing guitar since I was ten. 387 00:22:26,628 --> 00:22:29,631 And then he said this. He just offered this. 388 00:22:30,082 --> 00:22:33,602 He said, you know, Joe, I played my whole life 389 00:22:33,602 --> 00:22:36,872 and I played in all kinds of bands growing up and, 390 00:22:37,389 --> 00:22:43,228 and then I, but I never really realized until I started playing here for worship. 391 00:22:43,228 --> 00:22:45,697 This is what I was made for. 392 00:22:45,697 --> 00:22:46,548 And I was going on. 393 00:22:46,548 --> 00:22:49,317 Yeah, absolutely. 394 00:22:49,317 --> 00:22:53,038 He might never be able to stand up and preach a sermon, but what he does, 395 00:22:53,071 --> 00:22:56,158 it's like God has taken his gifts and his passion and his love 396 00:22:56,158 --> 00:22:59,161 and repurpose them for his glory. 397 00:22:59,961 --> 00:23:02,280 That's what God can do for you. 398 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:06,201 Like the the power of the church that swept through 399 00:23:06,201 --> 00:23:09,921 the Roman Empire, this phenomenon called the church. 400 00:23:10,188 --> 00:23:16,078 It happened because people were being transformed like a process 401 00:23:16,278 --> 00:23:19,281 became a moment in every person's life 402 00:23:19,281 --> 00:23:22,751 where they said, Jesus is my Lord. 403 00:23:22,801 --> 00:23:24,603 Jesus is my Savior. 404 00:23:24,603 --> 00:23:27,522 God became the real God. 405 00:23:27,522 --> 00:23:30,475 Who's that stubborn fact of the resurrection 406 00:23:30,475 --> 00:23:34,963 where people believe that Jesus is who he said he is because he resurrected 407 00:23:34,963 --> 00:23:41,269 and they were convinced of it, and then people became the real them, 408 00:23:42,070 --> 00:23:46,041 the way God created you with the same passion, same love, 409 00:23:46,074 --> 00:23:50,512 same gifts, but repurposed, redirected for his glory. 410 00:23:50,562 --> 00:23:53,682 You will never feel more like you 411 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,803 than you when you're in that place. 412 00:23:57,953 --> 00:24:02,674 After being repurposed and transformed by God for his glory. 413 00:24:03,308 --> 00:24:05,427 Did you pray with me, 414 00:24:05,427 --> 00:24:06,428 father in Heaven, to come to you? 415 00:24:06,428 --> 00:24:10,599 And I'm so grateful for the story of of Paul. 416 00:24:10,916 --> 00:24:11,550 I'm grateful 417 00:24:11,550 --> 00:24:16,188 that you don't just make our lives better, but you can actually make us new. 418 00:24:16,238 --> 00:24:18,240 Repurpose. Redirect it. 419 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:22,677 I pray for every person here that you help us 420 00:24:22,677 --> 00:24:26,281 all to be so transformed by you 421 00:24:26,281 --> 00:24:29,267 that we will actually feel more 422 00:24:29,401 --> 00:24:33,438 at home in our own skin, that we will realize that we are exactly 423 00:24:33,438 --> 00:24:38,793 who you made us to be, for your glory to be used for you. 424 00:24:39,077 --> 00:24:39,995 Thanks. 425 00:24:39,995 --> 00:24:42,430 Thanks for giving us a wonderful Savior. 426 00:24:42,430 --> 00:24:44,649 We pray this in his name. Amen.