All of this ties in with our look at Saul’s salvation story last week…in Acts 9…one of the most famous conversions in the whole Bible… review (on road to Damascus to arrest Xns…bright light, voice of Jesus, blindness, Ananias sent to pray, eyes opened, filled with the HS, baptized…)
-in Saul’s salvation story we find 4 key elements that are needed for a conversion to be genuine, the real deal…walk with God that goes the distance…want to look at these 4 things because we want to see people genuinely and thoroughly brought to Jesus… -we only covered the first one last week…want to finish today…
Today I want to read Saul’s salvation story as he tells it to King Agrippa, later in Acts, while he is under arrest and awaiting trial in Rome…open Bibles…
Prayer…Read…26:9-18…
As I’ve already said, there are at least 4 things that a true conversion involves. We covered the first one last week:
A True Conversion Involves
I A Personal Encounter with the crucified and risen Christ vv.14-15
-Jesus Himself called out to Saul by name: “Saul, Saul…” He identified Himself to Saul by name: “I am Jesus…whom you are persecuting…” – personal exchange…
…the very Jesus who had been put to death on the cross
* true conversion is a very narrow road that leads directly through the cross and the empty grave…
-the only true Savior is the Jesus of the Bible… Jn. 14:6…
If you recall I mentioned finding it very significant that Saul, murderous persecutor of the church, had a life changing encounter with JC on the road to Damascus in Syria…Syria, one of the places that ISIS is at work! (Syria and Iraq…)
* Islamic State…review…
So what God is asking us to do, I believe, based on what God did in Saul’s life, is to pray for the conversion of ISIS leaders…as unlikely and impossible as this seems…but based on the story of Saul, God can change the most unlikely, worst persecutor of His people and totally turn them around…
-pray God will meet these Muslim extremists personally, in their dreams, in visions…some way, any way…that they will have a personal encounter with God like Saul did and that God will call their name… and say to them, “I am Jesus, Who you are persecuting…”
-and they will fall to the ground in brokenness and repentance and be thoroughly converted…
eg. Joshua’s salvation story…Appendix 1
-tho no way in the same category as ISIS leaders…
II Surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ v.15 (9:5-12)
Saul makes that great declaration in v. 15 “Who are you Lord?” – that was more than a question; it was surrender…
…humbling himself before a mighty God…the cry of one who just realized he had encountered a power far greater than anything he has ever known…that Saul the powerful Pharisee and persecutor of the church had just met the real and living God… “Who are you, Lord?”
Saul’s surrender to Jesus’ lordship:
• repentance…realization of wrong, sin…
• change of direction…taken into city
• brokenness, weakness and dependency vs. being in charge, control…led by the hand…
• stop resisting God’s “goads”
* eg temporary blindness…why?
-how vulnerable does a blind person feel? dependent?
…to show him how blind he really was…fully focus on Jesus – (had to see Jesus firsthand to qualify as an apostle)…start the process of re-education, renewing of his mind…
Saul surrendered to the lordship of JC…and this is what is necessary for a conversion to be the real thing…becoming a follower of Jesus isn’t just saying we believe in Him… it is surrendering to Him, letting Him be the Lord of our lives, putting Him in charge…
eg like one of my grandkids said the other day…talking about what it means to be a Christian: “making Jesus the King of your heart…”…from a 7 year old…who is just learning what that even means…(listening to Him, asking Him what decisions to make, what He wants me to do, obeying Him…)
-so salvation then is not just a one-time event, which it is…but it is the beginning of a life-long journey of deeper surrender to the Lordship of JC…
III Other Believers Play an Important Role (9:10-19)
While Saul’s conversion was personal, it wasn’t private; Saul needed other people to play a role in his coming to Christ, becoming established as a new believer…just like you and I do…
…that’s what a church fellowship is for…that’s what disciple-making is all about…personal discipleship is one of the most important factors in helping a young Xn go the distance…
Ananias was a key figure in the conversion of Saul…remember what God asked him to do for Saul…instrumental in Saul’s conversion experience and first few steps into growth as a Xn
-summarize 9:10-19…
Ananias
• heard God’s voice…prompting about a person…
• obeyed, even reluctantly, willing to go even if hard…
(often think about my only regret in heaven (?) will be not talking to those people in my life about Christ…paying the price of rejection or ridicule or loss of relationship here on earth is pretty small in comparison to the reward of heaven…)
• spoke encouragement: “Brother Saul!”
• offered forgiveness and acceptance
• prayed for him…that he would be filled with the HS
-through his prayer Saul’s blindness was healed…
• instrumental in Saul’s baptism…
• welcomed him into the fellowship of God’s people
We all need an Ananias to help us get established in our Christian faith…I don’t think we ever grow out of our need for this…
-God wants some of you to be an Ananias…think about the people around you who need an Ananias…so if God prompts you to go to someone unlikely…and you have every reason not to go…do it anyway…no greater thrill than discovering a divine appointment has been pre-arranged…
IV Vision/Call to Serve God vv.16-18 (9:15-16)
-God gave Saul a huge vision of how He planned on using him for His mission/kingdom…
-let’s read it again in 9:16-18…with comments…
-new Xn, young Xn, seasoned veteran…you were not saved to sit around and wait for heaven…to spend your life on yourself…to be lazy and self-serving…
…you were saved to serve God…in ways bigger than you dare imagine…don’t settle for little, safe visions of serving God…
-ask Him and He will tell you what it is He wants you to do…it will cost you big time…but the big time joy you will experience is worth everything…
Conclusion
There you have it: 4 key elements needed for a true conversion…God wants you saved, dear friend…truly, genuinely…not hopefully, not tentatively…
And you are saved…really…when you’ve 1) had a personal encounter with the crucified and risen Christ 2) surrendered to His lordship 3) let other believers play a role in your life 4) received a vision/call to serve Him…
Are you saved today? really? without assurance?
** Calling all Sauls out there…is God speaking to you today, calling your name, shining His bright light on you? are you willing to surrender your life to Him?…
-it’s time for you to have a salvation story?…
-it’s time to stop kicking against the goads…
-to stop resisting God’s work in your life…
** Xn, how about you pray for the Saul’s you know…
-ask God to make you an Ananias in their life…
Prayer…Worship
…raise hand, stand up, come forward…
Joshua’s Salvation Story – Appendix 1
I want to share with you the testimony of an Iraqui Christian now named Joshua, not his Iraqui name, who lives in Edmonton through the sponsorship of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. I heard about Joshua through Pastor Sieg and Edie who met him recently through Kijiji, selling some of their household items as they prepare to move to Calgary.
I talked to Joshua this week and he sent me his salvation story. I will give you a shortened version which does not fully do justice to his story, but will illustrate how God can meet a Muslim person in a personal way and bring them to faith in Christ…
In no way is Joshua’s story in the same category as the ISIS leaders…rather illustrates how Christ often meets Muslim folks through dreams…
My family is a Muslim family. My father used to be an Imam, which is a Muslim leader. My destiny as a Muslim was to live as my father did and his grandfathers did. This is how I became a Christian.
When I was 5 ½ years old, my mom went to see a lady who could tell the future, and when mom asked her about my future the lady said, “I can't see his future because he is going to another kingdom”.
My mom and dad were very sad because they thought it meant I was going to die.
My dad suggested that I should study in the Islamic school so that if I died while I was studying there then I would go to paradise, but if I didn't die that meant God chose me to be the next imam and take over from my dad leading the mosque.
I was so sad when my mom took me to the school and left me there. The children there were treated poorly. It was a horrible experience.
Seven years later my father came and took me home.
I was very happy that to be out of that school and reunited with my family.
The following day my father took me with him to the mosque that he was leading, and he told me that from now on I would help him lead the mosque. He asked me to teach a class of young children who wanted to memorize the Koran.
I started to see all these verses in the Koran that spoke highly about Jesus. Many of these verses said that he is a good prophet and he is not the son of God, and other verses said he is the son of God.
Many nights when I went to bed I used to speak with Jesus and ask him to come to me and help me understand God more and help me to know if Islam is the right way to God or if Christianity was the right way.
What the Quran said about Jesus made me wonder who this holy man was, and why he needed to die and rise again. I started to think that he must be more than just a prophet because no other prophet rose again, not even Muhammad himself.
As I read more in the Quran I started to find many more words that spoke of Jesus. I truly started to love this man and that started me thinking, “If I change my religion and follow this man I will get killed”.
The teaching of Islam says that if anyone left Islam then he must be killed by cutting his head off and if I managed to run away and not get killed then I would lose my family and my friends and my country…and I would have to find another life. That’s if I was still alive.
But, if I don’t follow Jesus I will lose eternity. Every night for about a year, I would close my eyes and pray to Jesus and ask him to show me who he is and what he wants me to do and if he is the way to follow.
Then one night in a dream I called on the name of Jesus and asked him to save me and when I did a light appeared, and the light became a man in front of me. I saw both his hands bleeding and I asked him to save me.
I said he was my last hope, and then he said: “this man belongs to me”. The following day I went to tell my mom. She told me not to tell anyone, and that it’s probably just a nightmare. But, in my heart I couldn’t forget that dream.
A few months later I become seventeen years old and the 1990 Gulf War started and I was forced to join the army.
We were bombed day and night, many of us died and I was injured. I thought I would die in this war.
I knew that I had to take a step and tell my family that I am Christian.
When I got back home for a holiday, my father, asked me to go to the mosque and pray with him and help him with his work, but in my heart I couldn’t do it.
I told my father that I am no longer Muslim and that I am a Christian now who believes that only through Jesus Christ heaven’s door will be open for us. I also asked him about his thoughts when he read the verses that spoke about Jesus in the Quran.
My father became mad and he shouted at me and fought with me. He told me if I leave Islam it's leaving the family and am no longer part of this family and am no longer his son. I left home and went back to the army early.
About six months later my commanding officer told me that he just got a call and that my father had passed away. I went to the funeral, but was not welcome. Many blamed me for my father’s heart attack.
Three days passed and no one spoke to me. As I was leaving I went to say goodbye to my mom. She told me to not come back for a few months because my brothers had sworn to kill me.
My father had been removed from his job as an imam after they discovered I left Islam. It was after this that he had his heart attack. When I heard that my father died because of me, the news was worse than when I first found out he had passed away.
When I had finished my last day in the army the military police arrested me. They told me that I have been put under arrest because my family cancelled my citizenship and that I left Islam and became a Christian.
I was in jail for about two months not knowing whether I would be killed, or if I would just stay there forever. Eventually they put me in a car and drove me seven hours to the border with Jordan.
I was told that I was not allowed to stay in Iraq because I was no longer an Iraqi citizen.
The Jordanian side refused to let me go into Jordan because I didn’t have a passport. I was between the Iraq and Jordan borders for three days.
After three days the United Nations office in Jordan gave me an entry visa to enter Jordan. I had no money and I didn't know anyone. I was very sad and angry and one day started to talk to Jesus. I asked him if he was happy seeing me sleeping here being useless and if that's what he wanted me to do.
I told him I gave everything to follow him. I gave my country and my family and even my citizenship to him and now I am homeless in a country where I know no one.
Then I had the feeling that someone was talking to me telling me that he will give me a better country to call home, and a better family to call my family.
So for the next 20 years…Joshua lived in Jordan, Yemem, Malaysia and China. And it was in Macau China, that God connected Joshua with St. Timothy’s church who sponsored him to come to Canada and… here he is!
And as he says, “I am so thankful and very grateful , for He gave me a better country to call home, and now I have the biggest family anyone could ask for ( the family of Christ )!
Joshua said he might be here today…stand…