From Persecutor to Proclaimer to Persecuted | Acts 9:19-31

Welcome to Sermons from the Way Church of KC, the community of the First and Saints of Kansas City, following the way of Jesus and pushing back darkness together.

Good morning.

Would you guys stand real quick for the reading of God's word?

Sorry to make you sit down and stand back up.

We are going to read Acts 9, 20 through 31.

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus, and immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue, saying, He is the Son of God.

And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is this not this man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon his name?

And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?

But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that he was the Christ.

Jesus was the Christ.

When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul.

They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him.

But his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.

And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

You may be seated.

This is the word of the Lord.

Amen, amen.

Well, welcome everyone to the Way Church KC.

If we've got not gotten the chance to meet yet, my name is Zach.

I have the privilege of pastoring here.

We are a new church plant.

We launched a little under two years ago.

And so we're kind of feeling our way through it, walking in faith, walking in step with the Spirit, and it's been a fun journey.

It's awesome to see so many new faces here because today's a special day.

Today we are celebrating baptisms.

So yeah.

It's going to be a fun, fun Sunday.

Yeah, I'm excited.

And so, yeah, if this is your first time here, welcome.

We're glad you're here.

We'd love for you to come back and spend some time with us and get to know our way family.

We, though, are gonna start before we do baptisms, we're gonna uh dig into God's word and hear a sermon, uh, word from the Lord.

And we've been in a sermon series through the book of Acts, walking verse by verse through Acts.

And we took a little break for our Advent series, uh, but we jumped back in last week.

Um, and we're we're in Acts chapter 9.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

We're in Acts chapter 9, verses 20 through 31.

Acts 9:20–31

Um, this is all about all of Acts 9 is about Saul's conversion.

Saul becomes Paul, he becomes a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come, and uh that's what we're in the middle of in today's text.

I think that few stories in Scripture capture the power of God's grace, like the transformation of Saul of Tarshish.

You know, he didn't grow up in church in the sense that we would think about it.

He he wasn't like a spiritually curious person in the sense of uh finding out about this Jesus.

Um almost there when it comes to faith in Jesus.

In fact, as we looked at last week and um back when we looked at Acts chapter 8, he was actively opposed to Jesus.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

He was persecuting those who followed the way of Jesus.

He was that the text says that he was breathing threats, he was approving executions, and he was tearing families apart in the name of religious zeal.

And yet, what we see in Acts chapter 9, the author Luke shows us that no one is beyond the reach of the risen Christ.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

There is no one who is beyond the reach of the risen Christ.

And brothers and sisters, what I want you to hear this morning is that you are not beyond the reach of the risen Christ.

No matter what you have done, no matter how you have sinned, no matter how far it feels you may have fallen, no matter what, you are not beyond the reach of the risen Christ.

And I think that what we will look at today, it shows us what transformation looks like when Christ saves someone for his mission.

In Acts 9, 20 through 31, Luke he moves quickly from conversion to commissioning, from being saved to being sent.

Saul, yes, he is saved indeed by grace alone, but he is also immediately sent for the sake of Christ's name and for the sake of God's mission.

And what's so interesting, what I want you to see as we walk through this text is that Luke is not primarily concerned with like the type of person that Saul is.

He's not concerned with his personality.

This isn't a Paul is awesome set of scriptures.

This is not a Paul is awesome, look at him.

These verses, and all of Scripture, in my opinion, are a look to Christ.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but I think that many of us may assume that when God enters our life, when he truly changes us, some of us may incorrectly assume that life immediately becomes easier.

You might be under the assumption that when you give your life to Christ, there will be less conflict, there will be fewer problems, there will be more affirmation, everything's all sunshine.

Well, I think that what Acts chapter 9 tells us is a very different story, and I think that many of our lived experiences tell a very different story.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

But none of that changes who Christ is.

Saul's obedience in the face of this persecution, in the face of suffering, it brings amazement, it brings opposition, it brings fear, it brings forced relocation for him.

And yet, through it all, as we see at the beg at the end of this section of text in verse 31, through it all, the church moves forward.

The church grows, the gospel advances, and Jesus Christ our Lord is glorified.

This is not a story, nothing in the book of Acts and in all of Scripture is a story about how to have and live a comfortable Christian life, right?

This is a story about how God uses transformed lives to build his church.

Here's our big idea this morning as we get into the text.

Our big idea is this that God transforms lives for his glory and turns even the most unlikely individuals into proclaimers of his grace and truth.

With that, we're gonna look at three truths from this text.

First, persecutor to proclaimer.

Second, persevering through suffering.

And thirdly, we'll see the truths of having partnership with other believers.

I'll pray and then let's dig in.

Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here today.

Whether we've been a part of this church for a while or we're simply here this week to celebrate a baptism, Lord.

I pray that whatever the case may be, that we all hear your preached word, that you prepare our hearts, prepare our minds, prepare our spirit to receive the word you have for us, Lord.

I pray that you move me out of the way and let your words be laid clear, Lord.

God, would you move through this place?

Would you transform us through looking at Saul's life, who will soon become Paul.

Holy Spirit, you are welcome here.

Would you rest on this place?

Guide, guard, and direct us, Lord.

We love you, we praise you.

It's in the mighty name of Jesus we pray.

And everybody said, Amen.

Amen.

Point number one this morning is persecutor to proclaimer.

Persecutor to proclaimer.

That's the kind of journey that Saul goes on.

Acts chapter 9, verses 20 through 22, the word of God says, And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God.

Acts 9:20–22

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?

But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

So right off the rip, Luke emphasizes immediacy.

The Greek word for this immediately, it highlights that Saul does not delay obedience.

No, he is immediately obedient to what God has called him to do.

What we say often around this church, if you've been around, is that delayed obedience is still disobedience.

So what we can say and what we can deduce is that Saul is obedient here.

So for Saul's story, the persecutor becomes the persecuted after he first proclaims.

The persecutor becomes a proclaimer, and then he becomes the persecuted.

The one who just days prior was affirming the killing of Stephen is now preaching without any sort of real like probationary period.

And it's so interesting because Saul's salvation, it does not erase the zeal that he once had.

It just redeems it and redirects it to the risen Christ.

Grace, it does not neutralize Saul's passion.

It sanctifies it and it points it in a Christword direction.

The very same man who once argued against Jesus now confounds others by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

Family, what I want you to see is that this is the overflow of a heart that has been radically reoriented by God's grace.

Amen.

God alone changes hearts.

God then employs the whole person for his mission.

And that's what's happening with Saul.

He's being deployed for the mission of God.

He's preaching, he's proclaiming.

And what is he preaching?

Well, he is preaching Jesus.

Luke tells us that Saul preached in the synagogues, meaning that he begins where he already has this sort of like credibility.

But now Christ is the lens through which he is preaching.

And his message, it straights the point and it's striking.

He says that Jesus is the Son of God.

That's like the very phrase that he was commanding people to be arrested and killed for saying.

That is a radical transformation.

That's a complete 180.

This title, Son of God, it appears nowhere else in Acts and it signals a Christologically rich confession.

As one commentary I read while studying for this sermon notes, the language bridges Jewish messianic hope and Hellenistic categories of divine authority.

So Saul's contextualizing without compromising.

He's saying that the crucified Jesus reigns as God's son.

And the crowd is amazed.

Understandably so.

And this amazement, it underscores the miracle that is Saul's conversion.

The crowd says, Is not this the man who made havoc?

Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name?

And I can't help but think, like, that the same could be applied to us in a sense when we've gone through a radical transformation.

Is not this the man who made havoc in Parsons, Kansas?

Is not this the man who made havoc in central, south central Texas?

You know, like so on and so forth.

It's like the Lord radically redeems us to where people don't even recognize the person that we once were.

I know the same could be said about me as I once walked in darkness almost 11 years ago, and the Lord radically saved me out of a life of addiction.

But sometimes there's human disbelief.

Sometimes there's doubt.

And the human disbelief that's on display here, the doubt, it magnifies the radical transformation that has taken place.

Luke reminds us that oftentimes God works faster than people, than humans, than us, than we can adjust to.

So for us, what does that mean?

Well, I think first of all, it means that you do not need a perfect past in order to proclaim Christ.

You don't need a perfect past in order to proclaim Christ.

I don't think there's anyone among us who has a perfect past.

If you do, let me know.

Like, let's talk.

I also think that the text shows us you don't need full clarity about the future to obey today.

If you would have told me 11 years ago when I surrendered my life to Jesus, that in 11 years I'd be preaching God's word, I would have been like, wow, I don't see that.

But God knew the future.

God went before us.

God goes before us.

I didn't have full clarity, but it's about walking step by step in obedience, in faith, one foot in front of the other.

Here's the fact of the matter, family.

If Christ has revealed Himself to you, the natural response is to witness, is to be a witness.

Yes.

It's telling others, this is what Christ has done in my life.

I have a buddy that told me this quote, and I'm sure he got it from somebody at one point.

He says, like, hey, you might be the only Bible that someone reads today.

Are you showing that person Jesus Christ?

Oh my.

I think like if we're being honest, we live in a cultural moment of spiritual delay, of I'm not ready yet.

I haven't learned X, Y, or Z.

I haven't learned these things.

I need to learn more.

I need a degree.

Someone else is more qualified.

Like, hey, that person will go be a witness.

I'm not there yet.

But can I just ask you today?

Do I have permission to ask you a question, Jeremy?

Teresa?

I got your permission?

Who told you that you need to be fully ready before being faithful?

We live in a culture that says, fix yourself first.

Then you can speak.

The gospel says, come to Christ and He will transform you as you follow Him.

Saul reminds us, the story of Saul reminds us that obedience it flows from encounter.

It doesn't flow from any degree, it doesn't flow from any expertise.

It flows from encounter with the risen Christ.

So the question this morning for us, family, is have you encountered the risen Christ?

Yes.

If so, and my hope is that it is, then it is time to proclaim.

It's a time to proclaim the name of the risen Christ.

That's what Saul does.

And what is the result here for Saul?

Well, the text shows us that he increases in strength and wisdom and confounds the people, proving that Jesus is the Christ.

And when Luke says that Saul increased in strength, he's not talking about like, hey, he got big muscles, or no, he he uh grew in uh like as a leader or in charisma.

No, this is about the risen Christ and the transformation that he has brought about in Saul's life.

That's the increase in strength that he's received.

This isn't like a self-help verse.

This isn't about Saul's strengths.

This is only about the risen Christ.

Because here's the fact of the matter.

When Jesus truly changes what you believe and what you proclaim, it also changes how the world responds to you.

Transformation, it produces a bold witness, but also, if we're being real, it can produce a resistance.

Which brings us to point number two persevering through suffering.

Persevering through suffering.

Acts 9, verses 23 through 25, the word of God says, When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul.

Acts 9:23–25

They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him.

But his disciples took him by night and led him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

That's pretty wild.

So Luke uses a word for plotted here in verse 23 that echoes Psalm 2, where the nations are counseling together against the Lord and his anointed.

Saul's enemies, they believe that they're protecting God's honor.

But what they're really doing is opposing God's divine plan.

Ironically, Saul now becomes the persecuted.

The hunter is now hunted.

The persecutor has become the proclaimer and is now the persecuted.

And his escape, he's lowered in a basket through the city wall.

As you look at the Old Testament, this mirrors Old Testament deliverance narratives.

You think of Joshua, you think of David, and how God led their escape from different foes that came against them.

So Luke, he's signaling that Saul is not a traitor to Israel, but he's a chosen instrument of Israel's God.

So ultimately, what we see here is that the great apostle, what we'll soon find, has become Paul.

His ministry, it begins with dependence.

We don't see an overwhelming story of applause, of Saul depending on his own natural strengths or talents in order to move the mission of God forward in his own self-will.

What we see is Saul being forced into dependence on the living God.

We see him suffering for the sake of Christ.

And I think for those of us who have been around this church plant for a little bit, I think to an extent we can say the same.

I don't know if the same's true for you or not, Ashton or Roman, but like for me, uh before planting, I was uh working for a para-church ministry in the nonprofit world.

And at times I could get by on my own like natural strengths and you know, natural talents and just like kind of make uh you know make stuff happen.

But what I've found in this church planting journey is that's not the case.

Nothing good that has happened at this church is the result of anything I've done.

It is it is only the result of the Lord.

And like that's a place of dependence that the Lord's brought me into.

He's lowered me in humility, he's brought me to my knees many times, and that's the place I want to be in for the rest of my life.

I want to be in that place of dependence.

Because left to my own devices, I don't know if you guys can say the same or not, but left to my own devices, I suck.

But when I'm in the will of the Lord, God can do some pretty amazing stuff in and through us.

Amen, Lana.

Well we see as Saul depends on the Lord, we also see him suffering for the sake of Christ.

And what I want us to hear is like suffering is not a sign that transformation has failed.

Oftentimes it's the evidence that it's real.

In fact.

Suffering, it often confirms that we now belong to Christ.

Because the world treated him the same way.

You guys still want to get baptized after hearing that?

Jesus said, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

It's not like a, hey, maybe it's going to happen.

No, it's like a promise in Scripture.

And in the same way, Jesus told Saul that this would happen.

He said, I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg for our friend Saul.

He will go through persecution upon persecution as we continue through Acts.

He will go on suffering upon suffering as we walk through the book of Acts.

And what this produces, what suffering produces, is cross-shaped lives.

The gospel advances through cross-shaped lives.

For Saul, faithfulness to Christ, it costs him his reputation.

It cost him relationships.

It cost him safety.

And the same may be true for us.

Faithfulness to Christ may cost you.

Sometimes God's protection doesn't always look like triumph.

Sometimes it looks like escape.

Sometimes it looks like humility.

Sometimes it looks like help from others.

Sometimes faithfulness, it looks less like a microphone.

And more like a basket being lowered through a city wall.

Unseen, quiet, and dependent on others to lower you down.

That's what it was for Saul.

As the persecution closes in on him, his newfound brothers and sisters in Christ, they lower him in a basket through the city gates.

Immediately, off the rip, after Saul gives his life to Christ, he has to depend on other believers in his life.

And I just think there's something beautiful about that.

What I used to tell people is what I believe the two most important things in the Christian life, and life in general, are first and foremost a connection with God through Jesus Christ.

And secondly, a connection with others who are chasing after the same thing as you.

What do we say here, Jeremy?

A lone ranger is a dead ranger.

We need each other.

We need our people.

Maybe you've been in that season.

Well, can I just tell you that that's okay?

And that that obedience is worth it?

That counting the cost of following Jesus is worth it?

Yes.

Acts 9 reminds us of this.

That doesn't mean that the Lord is absent from your life.

No, it's also often confirmation that He's present, that He is with you through those trials, that He's with you through those struggles.

And if following Jesus leads us into suffering, the question then becomes how does God sustain us in the midst of it?

Well, Luke's answer is clear.

God doesn't do it through isolation, but through his people.

Which brings us to point number three, and our last point this morning is partnership with believers.

Partnership with believers.

Acts 9, verses 26 through 31.

Acts 9:26–31

The word says, And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

And he spoke and disputed amongst the Hellen against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.

And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarshus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, Samaria had peace and was being built up.

And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

So Saul he returns to Jerusalem, the very place where he once ravaged the church.

So you can understand the fear that the disciples have.

This is the third time that Luke records fear in response to Saul.

You see Ananias respond in fear.

You see the disciples in Damascus respond in fear.

You see the disciples in Jerusalem respond in fear fear.

No.

I think the truth of the matter, what that shows us, is even the church struggles to keep up with God's pace of grace at times.

But then enters Barnabas, the son of encouragement.

Barnabas, he steps in, he risks his own reputation by standing with Saul.

Showing us like this encouragement, being the son of encouragement, like Barnabas, being someone that's an encourager.

It's not like passive, it's not just uh, hey, I'm kind of a friendly person.

No, it's courageous gospel trust.

Being a son of encouragement or a daughter of encouragement is courageous gospel trust.

And Barnabas, he does something remarkable here.

He doesn't just believe Saul's story, although he does that.

Like he believes what's happened to Saul, the conversion in which Saul has undergone.

But he brings Saul into community.

He doesn't just say, hey, I believe what God's done in your life.

He says, I believe you and come with me.

Come meet my brothers and sisters.

Ultimately, Barnabas does what gospel-shaped believers do, what cross-formed believers do.

He listens, he discerns fruits, and then he advocates for the restoration of this man.

He doesn't deny Saul's past.

He's not like, hey, that didn't happen.

No, it happened.

But he testifies to Christ's work because he believes that Jesus Christ can make all things new.

Transformation, it's personal, yes.

But the way of Jesus, walking with Jesus for a lifetime, it's community-centered.

It's communal in nature.

God often uses people to confirm the calling that he's placed on their lives.

He often uses people to affirm grace and protect his servants.

So I think what we can deduce from the early church in Acts chapter 9 is that a healthy church is not one without fear.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

But it is a home, it's a place where grace is stronger than fear.

We're not trying to be a fearless church necessarily.

We're trying to be a church where grace abounds all the more, as Paul will later say.

And Luke, if just to give you a little spoiler of how Acts ends, Luke, he bookends Paul's ministry with the same word, boldness.

Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 28, 31.

Acts 28 · chapter mention

So ultimately what began here will continue to the ends of the earth.

Remember kind of our thematic verse as we look at Acts.

It says, You'll be my witnesses in all of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria until the ends of the earth.

That's what we're seeing here.

We're seeing the gospel expand, the kingdom of God move forward.

And then verse 31, it widens the lens.

In this Acts 1.8 sort of way.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.

And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Notice like this peace, the growth, the multiplication, they don't come from strategy.

They come from fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

One theologian notes that the fear of the Lord roots the church firmly in Old Testament faithfulness, yet now centered on the risen Christ.

The same spirit who birthed the church now sustains it.

So, family, may we be like Barnabas?

In your life, would you be a Barnabas?

Believing that the gospel is powerful enough to change anyone.

Even that one person, you know?

Whoever that person is, that you're like, oh, they're too far from God's grace.

Maybe you won't like say that or you don't actually think that, but in your heart of hearts, that's what you believe.

Nah, be a Barnabas.

Believe that the gospel can change anyone.

Don't confuse caution with unbelief.

And hear this: God builds his church, not through Lone Rangers, but through spirit-filled communities.

And by the grace of God, I believe that's what God's building here at the Way KC.

There's a lot for us to learn as a church family here from this text.

And, you know, just for a few things, in a skeptical age, quick to cancel, slow to forgive, the church must be the place where repentance leads to restoration and grace reshapes our identity.

So when you put all this together, everything that Saul's undergone here in Acts chapter 9, proclamation, persecution, partnership with other believers, you begin to see the bigger picture of what God is doing.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Not just in Saul's life, but also in the life of the church.

So in closing, Saul's story reminds us that grace transforms identity, that mission often follows salvation, that suffering accompanies faithfulness, and that community sustains us.

Saul the persecutor has become a proclaimer of the name of Christ.

The enemy of the church became a brother of the church, and the church grew.

Not because Saul was impressive, but because Christ is alive and he is reigning at the right hand of God.

And hear this.

I started the sermon with this.

Saul's not the hero of the story.

Barnabas isn't the hero of the story, although it's awesome how he's the son of encouragement.

And even the church, it's not the hero of the story.

It is the risen Jesus who still interrupts lives, who still redeems sinners, and who still builds his church.

And the same Jesus who stopped Saul on the road to Damascus is still stopping people on the roads that they're on and transforming lives today.

Whatever road that may be that you're on, if you have not yet confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior over your life, Jesus Christ can stop you on that road and turn your life around.

So the question is not, can God change someone like Saul?

The Bible makes that very clear.

Yes, he can.

The question is, will we trust him to do it?

And will we walk faithfully in the transformation that he brings?

And I just love how the author Luke ends this section of text.

I read to you guys verse 31.

I'll read it one more time just because I think it's so good.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.

And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

And the local church across Kansas City and the local church across the world.

May it be said here in this house that the church throughout Rosedale and Kansas City, Kansas, and the Kansas City Metro had peace and was being built up.

And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and multiplied.

Not for the sake of numbers, not for the sake of seats filled, but for the sake of the kingdom of God.

To God alone be the glory.

Amen.

So we're not going to end with a song from Ashton today.

We're going to like live this out.

What we've seen in Acts 9, it's not only a story to be admired.

It's really a story to be testified to.

Saul's life, it was transformed by an encounter with the risen Christ.

He went from persecutor, which proclaimer, to being willing to suffer.

All because Christ met him by grace and sent him on mission.

And today we get to witness the same grace at work through baptism.

Just last week we looked at Saul's encounter with Christ.

And the very first thing that he did, his first step of obedience, was baptism.

And as you look at the book of Acts, there's just like a different sort of importance laid upon baptism.

It was a different cultural moment then, the context was different.

To publicly proclaim the name of Christ meant death.

It doesn't mean death today, but it's still how we publicly proclaim Christ.

So looking at Acts, we should feel the weightiness of this decision to go public with our faith.

Baptism, it does not save, but it reveals, it shows.

What I like to say, it's kind of cheesy, but it's like, hey, you're putting on the jersey that says Team Jesus.

It's a public declaration that Jesus Christ has saved you.

It's a visible sermon that says, I once was dead, but now I'm alive in Christ.

I once was dead, but now I'm alive in Christ.

I once was dead, but now I'm alive in Christ.

As 2 Corinthians 5.17, my kind of life first.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation.

The old has passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

In baptism, what we see is the gospel preached without words, buried with Christ in death, raised to life in newness of life.

So as we prepare for baptisms this morning, let this be a moment of worship.

Let it remind us that the same Jesus who stopped Saul on the road to Damascus is still saving, is still transforming, and is still building his church today.

Thanks for listening.

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in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City.