Acts: Jesus’s Work of Salvation

Well, it's good to see you all. Thank you for being with us

this morning, worshiping with us this morning at Bethesda. I am Pastor Jonathan,

and I'm really glad that you're here. If you have your bible's turned

with me to Acts chapter nine, Acts Chapter nine. As we've been working

through our study in Acts, I want to ask you many You know,

many times we'll invest in different things and buy different things that we see as

valuable. Would you buy today a picture of a potato? Say anything,

anybody's interested in that? How about would you pay a million dollars for a

picture of a potato? Well, there is a story that came out,

it's just a few years ago, of a Irish potato that sold for over

one million dollars. There was a visual artist, his name is Kevin Obosch,

and he is well known and he's known for his photography and his pictures

usually go for a million dollars each, and he took a picture of a

Irish potato and that picture sold for over a million dollars. You know,

if you think about that, why would someone pay a million dollars for a

picture of an Irish potato? And the answer is is because of who took

the picture. The reason why someone paid a million dollars for a picture of

Irish potato is because Kevin Abosh is the one who took it, and because

he is someone who's recognized for magnificent work, people will pay a lot of

money, but for his work. Now, as we come to today we

talk about this passage of Scripture Acts chapter nine, we realize the value of

a picture is based upon who is the artist. And this morning we're going

to see who is the artist of us? If we're believing in Jesus Christ,

who is our craftsman, Who is the one who's the artist behind our

life? Well, Ephesians tell tells us that we are his craftsmanship, that's

the imagery and scripture. We are his tapestry. He is the artist,

and throughout his hand and throughout his work in our life, he makes us

into a beautiful picture for his glory. So I want you to think about

this morning as we come to this passive scripture. The title of my sermon

is Jesus' work of salvation. You know, Jesus does the work. It's

Jesus who saves us, right, it's Jesus who saved you. It's not

our work. It's not the things that we have done that's led to our

salvation. It's what Jesus has done in us. You know, one of

the greatest works of salvation that God granted and Jesus did throughout the New Testament

is by a name, a man named Saul, who would eventually change his

name that we would know in scripture and acts to the name Paul. And

Paul is the apostle who wrote most of the New Testament and who started salvation,

who led in missionary efforts that salvation would go to the gentiles. It

is through the hands of Paul that we have money much of the work of

scripture that's before us today. He's one of the greatest theologians of history.

And it was God Jesus' work in Paul's life, his work of salvation in

Paul's life, that forever changed Paul. And so today we want to see

Jesus work of salvation. It's not our work, it's his work. And

I want to ask you, as we look at this passage, to look

and see how Jesus completes his work of salvation and individuals, and I want

you to think about us as we see that salvation is Jesus work. How

does Jesus do the work of salvation? I want us to consider this morning.

Secondly, has he done this work of salvation in you? You know,

as Jesus begins the work of salvation, he scripture says he will what

bring it into completion. Not only does Jesus start salvation in us and he

begins he saves us, but he continues to make us sanctified until he takes

his home. So how today is Jesus continuing to do a work work in

you, saving you, sanctifying you. So today let's look at the work

of Jesus in salvation. We'll just stand together and let's read Acts chapter nine,

and we're start in verse one and read through. We'll probably break it

up into different sections here, but we'll start in verse nine and we'll start.

We'll probably stop at verse nine. Starting verse one. Read through verse

nine, it says this, but Staul still bringing breathing threats and murder against

the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and he asked

him for letters to the Son of God Damascus. So he found any belonging

to the way, men or women that he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Now, as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and

suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and falling to the ground,

he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you

persecuting me? And he said, who are you? Lord? And he

said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the

city, and you'll be told what to do. And the men who were

traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one saw,

rose from the ground, and all together his eyes were open, and

he saw nothing. So they led him by hand and brought him into Damascus.

And for three days without sight, and he ate, and he neither

ate nor drink. Let's pray together, Father, we thank you Lord for

this morning. We thank you for this passage of scripture. God, it

is you, Jesus, you who save us. And today Lord help us.

Lord, see Lord, how you saved Paul, and the work of

salvation that you did in life of Paul. And I pray today we would

as believers are as here's today, maybe i'mbelievers here today day, we would

consider Lord, the work that you want to do in us the work the

sanctification that you'll continue do in us today. And Lord, just ask Lord,

saw heard your voice today? Lord, I pray today we would hear

your voice just as that day that Saul fell at your feet. Today,

may we Lord humbly fall before you. Father surrender Lord to you. So,

Lord, we pray today that you would speak Lord today. As I've

prepared this message, I believe God, there's Lord, You're moving. I

can already sense Lord you're working this morning. And I pray, Lord,

you just take over. Now, you take over me, You take over

this room. And Lord, you do a work here, just like you

did on that road at Damascus. Lord, do a work here today,

we pray. And Lord, we come united in one accord with the desire

Lord to see you fall upon us. Lord, so move now. Father,

We pray, Amen, you may be seated. So you come to

this passage scripture Saw. As I mentioned, this passage really big picks up

if you as we've been working through the Book of Acts, it really kind

of picks back up from Acts chapter eight, starting in verse one, and

we'll look at that in just a minute. But if you remember, as

Access began changing the book and the flow of of the book as we have

seen kind of the gospel going to groups. We saw the gospel going to

the Jews. We saw through Philip, we saw the Gospel going to Samarian

and the Samaritans. And then it changes kind of the latter part of chapter

eight, and then from this point on we begin seeing the gospel going to

individuals. Last week we saw how the gospel going to the ends of the

earth, and it began in one individual, and it was the Ethiopian eunuch.

But we saw a one on one encounter of one individual received salvation.

Well, this today you almost have this imagery and this for you, just

think about this, you almost have this imagery and acts. The end of

chapter chapter eight, as the Gospel goes to the ends of the earth,

you see someone who was far from the from like geographically far from the Lord,

and that he was from Ethiopia, and he was literally traveled five four

months to get to Jerusalem. So distance separated him physically from being able to

hear the gospel. And so Jesus, the gospel goes to those who are

physically geographically far away, the gospel goes to them. In today's passage,

you see someone who is spiritually far from God geographically last week individually here as

we see Saul, we see someone spiritually who is far away from God.

And the reality is, you come to Saul, Saul is someone whose individual

who really feels like if you would do a summarize Sau and we'll see this

in scripture, Saul really was someone that he was really far away from God.

But the reality is he really thought he was close to God. He

sees. Saul tells us and we underthind them from scripture that Saul was born

a Jew. He was actually from Tarsus, who was kind of the northern

part of Israel. In Tarsus, he grew up as a devout Jew.

He actually would move to Jerusalem and centered under a Jewish scholar, and he

would become a Pharisee. And he was someone who knew God, someone who

knew God's word. He was very, very devout Jew, so devout that

he took upon himself to eradicate Christians. And Acts chapter eight tells us this

as we first see Saul. We see Saul on the very first time we

see him, is Stephen is being on. Who is this Christian who's spreading

that salvation is not through Judaism or through works, but salvation is in faith

in Jesus Christ. And he saw that the Christians, and this Jesus from

Nazareth, was one who was coming to destroy Judaism, destroy everything he always

believed in, destroy what he committed his life to and studying. And so

therefore he was committed to destroy the Christians. So much so in Acts chapter

eight, when they was Stephen preached and preached the Gospel to the Jews and

said, it's you Jews who killed Jesus. Saul was there, and scripture

tells us that he approved of Stephen's execution, and he held the clothes or

held the coats of the individuals who picked up the stals and killed him.

And in Acts chapter eight we see that it and only it just begins with

Stephen. But Saul was a very one who was pushing the eradication of all

the Christians. And Scripture tells us in verse eight in chapter eight, verse

one, and Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day

a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout

the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles devout men barry Steven and

make great limitation of him. But look at verse three. But Saul was

ravaging the church and entering out house after house, and he dragged off men

and women and committed them to prison. The word they're ravaging is the imagery

and the Greek of a wild boar going and just destroying crops and around,

and the imagery Saul was like a wild animal, and he was running through

Jerusalem, and he was just seeking to destroy Christianity. As we come to

chapter nine, we see that because of what Saul did in Jerusalem, because

he was like a wild animal trying to destroy the Christians, that the Christians

fled Jerusalem. We see that in chapter eight they flew fled from all from

Jerusalem to all different parts of Israel. And as we come to chapter nine,

Paul hears that there are Christians who've left Jerusalem and have traveled as far

as Damascus. And in Damascus they have gone and they're seeking to spread the

Gospel to Christians to Jews in Damascus. Damascus was one hundred and thirty miles

away from Jerusalem. He was a six days journey. It's one of the

furthest parts into Israel. It's a six day journey from work Jerusalem to Damascus.

And Saul tells us or Paul, I'll use those terms interchangeably, is

probably this morning to bear with me. But saw this passive scripture, it

says, still breathing threats and murder is the imagery that saw us. He's

not slowed down since you saw him in as he is even even more ramped

up. He's breathing threats and the imagery and the scripture says here breathing threats

and murder is the imagery here that he really desires that these Christians be killed.

Ultimately he goes to the chief priests, scripture tells us, and he

gets authorization from the chief priests to go to travel to Damascus six days and

capture men and women, carrying them six miles on me six days back to

Jerusalem, that they would stand on trial. And ultimately Saul wants them to

stand on trial and be killed. And the Bible says, as Saul is,

he's doing this all because he believes he's right with God. He believes

he knows God. And see he understands that he believes in his mind that

these Christians are a threat to his religion. You see, Saul's salvation was

in himself, in his works, the things that he had done for God,

and his zealous for God and for Judaism. And because of what he

had done, and because even what he's doing to these Christians, he thinks

he is good with God, because salvation is something that Saul had achieved.

And so he's on his way to Damascus. Scripture even says, and won't

you read this, Saul would even say these words and Philippians, as he

wrote the letter to the Church of Philippi, he says, though myself I

have reason for confidence in the flesh. Also, if anyone thinks he has

reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more circumcised on the Yate day,

a people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of

Hebrews, as to a law a pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor church,

and as to righteous under the law blameless. Saul thought he had it

all together, and he was so passionate about it. He went and got

rights from the earth or orders from the chief priest, and he was headed

to Damascus. But something happened on Damascus road, and this was the first

work of Christ in salvation. Listen to me. The first thing that Christ

does and when he works salvation is first Jesus calls the center. Scripture says,

as Paul was going across down that road in verse three. Now,

as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light

from heaven flashed around him, and falling to the ground, Listen to this,

he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul. The word

using his name twice is to show emphasis, is to be emphatic. It's

like when you're in trouble, when you're a little boy. And I remember

when I was my mom would I'd be in trouble and I'd done something wrong,

and she'd say Jonathan, and I didn't listen, and she'd say Johnthan

and again, and I wouldn't listen. But if she said Jonathan Michael Barbie,

but you better listen. You know what I'm saying. That's the imagery

Jesus calling to Saul, Saul, Saul. He's calling him by name to

get his attention. You know what scriptures, you call someone by name and

and only you did you know their name, but it revealed their character.

And when he called out to Saul, he says, Saul, I know

you. You think you got it all together. You think you're fine with

me. You think everything that you're doing is right. Saul, I know

right where you are. Can I tell you today? The Bible says that

God knows your name. Isaiah tells us that Isaiah thirty I mean some one

thirty nine tells us that he has hurts you, and he knows you.

He knows when you rise up and when you lie down. He knows your

thoughts. From Afar, can I tell you? Scripture and Only it says

that Jesus knows your name, but he knows your thoughts. He knows when

you get up in the morning, when you lie down at night, he

knows your way. Scripture says in Luke twelve seven that he knows the hairs

on your head. Jesus knows exactly where you are. And the first work

of salvation when God begins doing the work on you listen today, is Jesus

calls you by a name. Listen, Jesus intimately knows you. You're not

just a number or an individual and a census statistic Jesus intimately knows you.

He knows who you are, he knows your thoughts. And listen, that

same God who created you and knows you. It's the same God. Listen

to this imagery who calls you? What the love of God that I believe?

For Saul a man who thought he was good, He didn't need God,

he didn't need any more of God. He had all the God that

he needed. And Jesus didn't look down and says, I tell you what

he's just it's hopeless. He's just too far gone. You know anybody like

that in your life, They just seem too hard. Nobody, no way

God will save them. They just they're too hard, they're too rebellious,

they're too hard in their sin, they're stuck in their ways. You ever

said that they'll never change? Can I tell you there's no one that's ever

too far from God. And there's no one that's that's too far from God.

And there's no one that God can't call. And Jesus called Saul.

I heard the story of Augustine, who was a church historian. And Augustine

was in August of three eighty six. That was a long time ago.

Augustine grew up in a Christian home, and he was in a garden.

He was really struggling. He had abandoned his mom's faith, and he was

a philosopher, and he had studied some other philosophies and then came to a

place so he realized that those were faults. And he began going to a

service and hearing preaching from a pastor named Ambrose, and he but during the

time, he just even though he believed, started to come around to believe

that that Christianity was true. He was living with a woman. They had

lived together for thirteen years, and he knew he was living in morality and

he didn't want to give that up. One day, he was in the

garden, he was really struggling with the sin and was really struggling with Christianity,

and suddenly he heard some children that were going by. The children were

here singing a song in Latin, and the song cried out, take and

read. Suddenly Augustine began to cry. He beg He believed that God was

calling him to take the word and open it. So he hurried back to

where one of his friends was sitting, and there was the Bible there,

and he opened up the Book of the Bible. And when he opened up

the Bible, and he knew in his heart that good Jesus was telling him

to go find the Bible and open it up and read. And when he

opened up read it. He read Romans thirteen thirteen through fourteen. It says,

let us walk properly in daytime, not in orgies or drunkenness, not

in sexual morality or sexuality, not in quarrelly and jealousy, but put on

the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision of flesh to gratify its desires.

And he knew right then Jesus was calling him. From that moment on,

he says, I didn't read anymore. He's any doubt he had about

the Lord right there, he put his faith in Jesus. Jesus today listen

still calls. And I wonder if you're hear today. And you came and

you thought, you know what I've been pastor I'm good, you're watching online

or TV. I'm good, I'm fine. And today as you've come in,

Jesus is calling you, stopping you in your tracks. You have your

plans, You've may been involved in some things that not been glorifying the Lord,

and today Jesus is calling you. Today once you've seen only the work

of Jesus calling, but Jesus. Secondly, Jesus calls the center first,

but secondly Jesus confronts the sinner. Here Paul has got the you imagine,

he's gotten the letters in his hand from the sin of God that approved him

to go to the Damascus and to capture anyone Christian who confessed the name of

Jesus and to carry them back. He's got that in his hand. He's

not listen, there's not And I once, and I'll be honest with you.

I came to this passage before in history. When I've studied this passage

before, I really kind of felt like, after what Stephen died, that

there was something, maybe God working on his heart. Actually, now I

studied this anew today, I would say, I don't really believe at all

that it was anything in Saul's heart, because I think there was the reason.

You would say, why do he say that? It's because because he

had such fervency to go to the sin of God and ask for these letters,

to travel six days journey to go get Christians. There was no slowing

down. Saul I think he he had in his mind, his mind was

made of He was living in direct rebellion against God. And God calls him,

don't you see. Secondly, as he's on his way, the Bible

says, no, only did Jesus call him, but Jesus confronted his sin.

This is what happens, the Bible says in verse four, in verse

three, Now, when he was on his way to Damascus, suddenly a

light from heaven flashed around him. You think about that passage of scripture.

There's a we're going to get into this in detail in a minute, but

they say it was around noon like so it was some would have been high,

and some people of philosophers or skeptics will say, well, Paul just

saw the hot sun and he got sickly and he just got too hot,

you know, overheated a little bit. Some would say that he was maybe

had epilepsy, and he was, you know, the light God him and

he fell because of epilepsy. No, this was Jesus who revealed himself.

It's clear in this passage of scripture that saw saw Jesus. Because why do

you say that I want you to go down with me and we're gonna look

at them just just a minute, as we come to Anonius in a moment.

Anonius is one who comes and meets Paul, and we're going to see

this in a minute. But when Anonius goes and sees Saul later on,

look at verse seventeen, and Annias departed to enter 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 might regain your sight. Listen, when that light shine

about, Saul saw saw Jesus. I believe Saul saw Jesus, just like

Peter and John saw Jesus in the transfiguration. He saw the glory of Jesus,

just like in Isaiah when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up,

he saw the glory of the Lord. He saw Jesus. And thats what

was Isaiah's response, the fall before the Lord and says, woe am I'm

a wretched sinner, unclean lips right, the same response that Saul sees Jesus.

Now. Scripture says, he says to him as falling on the ground,

and heard a voice saying, Saul sauw and listen to a response.

This is what Jesus says them, Why are you persecuting me? You go

to the passage script sure in chapter eight and chapter seven Stephen approved, I

mean, Saul approves of Stephen's murder. It's it's Saul who was persecuting Stephen.

It was Saul who was persecuting the Christians in Jerusalem. It was Saul

who was on his way to persecute the Christians in Damascus. And you might

say, as you look at that passage of scripture, what Saul did was

against Stephen. What Saul did was against the Christians. What Saul did was

against the Church. But that's not what Jesus said. When Jesus looked at

Saul, he didn't say, why did you do that to Stephen? Why

did you do that to the Christians? Why did you do that to the

church. He says, no, why did you do that to me?

He Jesus confronts the sinner. You know, Scripture says today, listen to

me today that nothing's hidden from God. Nothing is hidden from God. You

know, their sin in our lives at many times, and we we really

try to hide our sin. We want what others are know about our sin,

and so we try to hide our sin. But can I tell you

today you cannot hide your sin from God. Scripture says in Hebrews four thirteen,

no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed

to eye of Him, to whom we must give an account. I was

in college, and and you know confessions good for the soul, and may

have told you the story before, and I was I was going home late

one night and I think me and Brady went on a date, and I

was dropping off of college and I was going back to my apartment in Greer

and there's these little back roads and there's one little road and I'm sure you've

seen those before. There's kind of a little short, little turn, and

then there's it was a curve, and it was I don't know what time.

It was late, and so it was late at night, and nobody

was on the road, country roads. And I'd had the habit, bad

habit, don't, don't, don't do this, Carolina. And so I

had the habit because you could see on that curve both sides of the road,

you know, those ways of traffic, And I had the habit of

getting to the end of up stop sign, looking both ways, and just

kind of cruising through that little stop sign, you know what I mean?

By that time, I cruised a little little stop sign and I went on

the little little curvy road, and about time I looked up and those car

behind me, I said, don't normally see cars behind, you know,

in this road. By time those lights turned blue, I said, oh.

And so he pulled me over. He said, young man, do

you know what you pulled me over? What I pulled you over for?

I said, speeding? He said, no, I saw you running that

stop sign. I said, ooh, you saw that, you know.

And I tell you that story because sometimes we were like that with God.

We think maybe he won't catch it, We'll just slide through. Maybe maybe

he won't catch what I'm doing. Can I tell you God sees our sin

and when we sin today we may think at times when my sin just it

may affect this person, or my sin may affect this person. But do

we understand today that our sin affects God? You know? Brandy and I

were talking this week and talking with Devin and Tanner that she explained it sometimes

with students at our academy they're so worried at times that if the teacher will

find out, Oh, I don't want missus, Brandy to find out.

I don't want the teacher to find out some of the things that I'm doing

wrong. And Brandy asked this question, how do we get our students not

to fear us, but to fear what they're doing, not to us,

but fear what they're doing to a holy God? Can I say that's not

only appuable to teenagers, but that's equable to us. Sometimes we're worried about

what happens. And I'll be frank with you today, there's been people in

church who have left the church. Why because the church people found out about

their sin and they didn't want people to go back to church because people knew

they were living in sin, and they didn't want to see there's people because

what would they think about me if they because now they know about my sin?

If I had a couple came to me one time and he wanted to

confide in me and wanted to having marriage trouble and come to find out that

his wife was having an affair. And he told me she was having an

affair, and we came into counseling. And I tell you they didn't last

in our church very long. And you know why, because she couldn't stand

the idea that I knew that she was having an affair. But they were

too concerned about what I thought or what the church thought, instead of what

thinking about what God thinks. And in this passage, he doesn't say what

are you doing to Stephen? He's saying, why are you doing to me?

Why are you persecuting me? In verse five he said, who are

you, sir Lord? And he says, listen, I am Jesus whom

you are persecuting. Young man today struggling with porn, Jesus knows, young

lady today, struggle with same sex attraction. Jesus knows, young woman today,

struggle with gossip. Jesus knows those private conversations you're having having sex outside

of marriage. God knows. Struggle with gambling. Jesus knows, thoughts of

lust. Jesus knows Today. Listen, Jesus calls, but Jesus confronts the

sinner. You know, David is another individual in scripture who sinned against God.

And the Psalm fifty one after his sin with Bathsheba, who where he

had sinned against her, he had sinned against your r I, he had

sinned against the nation of Israel, his commanders. You can go on and

on to different people that David had offended. And David, as he confesses

his sin in Psalm fifty one, he says, have mercy on me,

O God, according to your stepfast love, and according to your abundant mercy,

blot out my transgressions, Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, cleanses me

from my sin, for I know my transgression, and my sin is ever

before me. And in verse four he says, against you, only have

I sin and done what is evil in your sight, so that you might

be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Today, listen,

Today Jesus calls you. There's nothing good in us that seeks God. It's

God who calls us. Jesus not only calls you, but today Jesus confronts

your sin. And maybe today is the day that you say, Jesus,

I want to tired of hiding. I wanta tired of fleeing. I wanta

tired of ignoring. I wanta tired of playing games. Today's a day that

Lord, I want to confess my sins before you and declare, God,

I have sinned against you God. I think the beautiful thing of this passage

and all of the Jesus calls, not allly, Jesus confronts that third Jesus

converts. The third work of Jesus is Jesus converts to sinner. You know,

you might say, today, pastor, I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to do. I felt like I had it all

together, but things are unraveling around me, and it seems like I can't

clean up the mess of my life. I can't clean up the mess in

my heart. I can't clean up the mess of my sin. The good

news today is Jesus not only calls you know that Jesus confronts you, but

Jesus is the one who cleanses you. The imagery of this passage of scripture,

you just imagine the power that's in this moment. Paul Saul is on

this road to Damascus. He has the papers in his hands, He's ready

to go persecute. He's going in to kill. And as he goes in

to kill, because he doesn't believe in Jesus, Jesus confronts him and says,

Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me? And listen to the

words he says, who are you? What is Paul's major issue? Paul

doesn't believe in Jesus. He believes he died, fabricated story from those Christians.

He didn't really die, he didn't really resurrect. He's dead, He

wasn't really the Messiah. There's another Messiah to come. But that day he

saw Jesus, his eyes were open to finally believe. You know. Scripture

says the ultimate sin is not believing in Jesus. The ultimate sin is on

not believing in Jesus. Ultimate sin is not loving Jesus. Second Corinthians sixteen

twenty two says, if anyone has no love for the Lord, let him

be accursed. That's the issue, the imagery that the major sin is to

not believe in Jesus or not to love Jesus. John sixteen eight through nine

says, when he comes, he will convict the word, convict the world

concerning sin, the righteous and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in

me. The major issue, major sin is not believing and not loving,

and that was the issue of Saul. He didn't believe in Jesus, and

he didn't love Jesus. He says, who are you as he sees Jesus,

And he says in verse five, I am Jesus. You remember what

Jesus' name means. You know, he didn't say I am the Messiah,

I am the Christ. He says, I am Jesus. What does Jesus'

name mean? You always saves. He's a wonderful the love of the Lord.

To know that the same God who calls you, the same God who

confronts your sin, is the same God who wants to save you from your

sins. That's here for Saul, he says, whom you're persecuting, he

says in verse six, but rise and enter the city, and you'll be

told what to do. You know, as you'll go to countries on mission

trips. One thing that we do is we take us dollars and we'll go

into another country, and most times we go to a bank or some other

place and we convert the currency. So the imagery of when you convert currency

is you take US dollars and you give maybe we typically do like one hundred

dollars when we team members. That's pretty much fifty dollars. One hundred dollars

is enough to get them through the week. And so we'll take in and

we'll give one hundred dollars and they'll convert that one hundred dollars into shillings if

it's Tanzanian, or rubles if it was in Russia or other places. But

we convert that, so it changes from one currency to another. Now,

notice in the exchange, you don't give them a hundred and they give you

part us in part shillings. No, it's a conversion, it's a change.

It changes from one thing to the other. When Christ calls us,

when Christ confronts us, when Christ does the work of conversion in us,

Listen, Christ produces a change in us. He doesn't just say, Okay,

I'm going to leave a little bit of your old self in there and

give you a little bit of new Jesus. No, when Christ changes you,

he makes you what a new creation in Christ Jesus. For Saul,

Listen, Saul went in to Damascus unbelieving. On the road to Damascus he

believed. And there as he goes into Damascus, he no longer has a

desire to kill. Still, I mean kill and destroy. He comes in

now to evangelize has actually we're gonna look. He goes into Damascus, and

scripture says, now he goes in, he's blind and look at the imagery

of verse eight and nine. And from the groundhill, though his eyes were

open, he saw nothing. He said. They led him by him and

brought him too Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and

he neither ate nor drank. You know, there's a different debate about this,

but I really believe for three days Saul instead of going in and for

three days persecuting, for three days Saul praying and fast. You remember when

Jonah went into the Sini city of Nineveh and he cried out, in forty

days, God's going to come. And when they heard the word of the

Lord, what they respond They prayed? They responded with what prayer and fasting.

You see God change Saul. And eventually, as we see and later

on next week that Saul goes into persecute, God saves him. He goes

to prayer and fasting, and then God, we're going to see next what

God's next plan for him. And eventually the one who came in to persecute

actually is the one who first preaches in Damascus. You see God converts.

I want to ask you today, has Jesus done a change in you?

Has he called you? Has he confronted your sin? But has Jesus done

a work of conversion in your life? That you've changed from the old self?

And you're a new creation in Christ. Scripture says, Therefore, if

anyone's in Christ, he's in new creation. The oldest passed away. The

behold, the new has come. All of this is from God, who

through Christ has reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Lastly, Jesus calls the center, He confronts the center, he converts the

siner. Forth, Jesus commissions the sinner and verses ten and through nineteen and

for the second time, I won't read that. Scripture says there and Damascus

was a disciple named Ananius. It's believed through scholarship the Anonius was probably one

of the leaders of the church, the Christians. In Damascus. The Lord

comes and speaks to Ananius, and he says, here I am to the

Lord's very image, a lot of the imagery of Isaiah and the Lord says

to him, Anonius, and wants you to go to this road. And

there's a road in Damascus called Streat. I want you to go to that

road. And there's a man named there, named Saul, and I want

you to go to him. I want you to lay your hands on him.

For this man he's praying and I've got a call upon him. Well,

and Aniasis, Lord, i've heard about this man. This man is

has killed Stephen. This man is has ravaged the church in Jerusalem, and

I've heard he's got orders from sin of God. So this shows you his

leadership. He knows what's going on in the church. I heard he's got

orders from send of God to come to here, and he's going to capture

anybody who's a part of who are Christians, and he's going to carry them

back to Jerusalem to stand on trial. I just don't know about that,

and I want you to see what happens in verse fifteen. But the Lord

said to him, that's Anonius, Go for he is a chosen instrument of

mine to carry my name before the gentiles and the kings and the children of

visual. For I will show him how much he must suffer from my name's

sake. You know what he tells Anonius, Annius, I know you're afraid,

but I want you to go to him, because I've chosen him,

and he is going to be my instrument to take the Gospel. Listen,

listen to what he says to the Gentiles, to the Kings, and to

the Jews. You see, God not only listen calls. Not only does

God confront the sinner. Not only does God convert the center. But then

lastly, God commissions the sinner. He had a commissioning on Saul to be

a missionary who would take the Gospel to the Gentile, to the Kings,

to the Jews, and to the ends of the earth. Listen, not

only does God call you, not only does God confront your sin. Not

only will God convert you, but then God takes us changes. This makes

us a new creation of Christ, that He might send us out as a

witness for him to the ends of the earth. Acts One eight is you'll

be my witnesses. You will receive power when the Holy spirits come upon you,

and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria to the

ends of the earth. You see God took a wretched sinner like Saul,

changed him, converted him on that road of Damascus, and it made him

the greatest missionary that ever lived. And you and I today stand and sit

in But does the Baptist Church as believers in Jesus Christ, as gentiles through

the work of the Holy Spirit, and because of faithful missionaries like Stephen and

Philip and Saul. You see, God not only wants to call you,

He not only does Jesus confront you your sins. Jesus wants to change you,

convert you the sinner that Jesus wants to send you out to the ends

of the earth. I want to close the story. The story is a

man named mel Trotter. He was a barber by a profession, but he

was a drunk so had such an addiction to alcohol. He his daughter died,

and he was so addicted to alcohol that he actually stole the shoes off

of her dead body and sold them that he might buy more drinks. One

night he was drunk and he kind of made his way into a church,

and that night he got saved. And God took that old drunk saved him,

and he gave him a heart for the other folks in the city in

prison, and he began starting a rescue mission in Grand Rapperts, Michigan,

and there he found more than sixty more missions. We begin cheering and leading

people to Christ for the rest of his life. See God calls the sinner.

God confronts the sinner. God converts the sinner, and God commissions the

sinner. Today. It's God calling you today. Will you respond to his

voice today? Would you recognize and confess, Lord, I am a sinner.

I've sinned against you like David. Would you cry out like Saul,

Lord, change me, Lord, change me, Lord. I want to

be a new man. I want to be a new woman. You say,

Lord, Now, will you change me that you might send me out?

Do you pray with me? Lord? We love you, We thank

you for this morning, We thank you for your word. And I pray

Lord, as you speak today. Lord, we surrender Lord as you have

spoken, just as you spoke on that road to the mass because to Saul,

Lord, may you speak the hearts of people today. And I pay

I pray that people today would surrender Lord to your voice. In your name,

we pray Amen, Jesus, pain and all to Him.