LESSONS FROM THE CONVERSION OF SAUL OF TARSUS. Acts 9
Lockleys Baptist Church Sep 2008
Saul was ‘ Breathing out murderous threats’. We exhale toxic CO2 and inhale enriching oxygen. Saul despised those who were born again. He tortured them to death if warranted. His furious heart was as dark as night. His life despicably evil. What could a holy God do with such an abominable wretch?
v2 Saul sought men or women, with faith in the Lord., disregarding their sex, variable degree of pregnancy, nursing mothers and their breast-fed infants. Could this beast write Ephesians 5, ‘Husbands love your wives. Wives, be in sweet sub mission to husbands. Christ is head of the body.? ‘ Indeed!
V 3 The Light of the world shone from heaven. Saul recalled Moses and the living Lord at the burning bush who compelled him to bow. Saul knew of the Lord’s shekinah glory., having studied the fire of God falling on and consuming Elijah’s sacrifice on Carmel .
v4 He fell to the ground and heard a heavenly voice., ‘Saul, Saul ( repeated for his attention) why are you persecuting me? Saul did not hallucinate, for the Speaker had called the worlds into existence. Saul knew! Flinders University challenged this; but failed to explain the miracle of Saul‘s conversion.
v5 The Lord announced that ‘I AM JESUS’, the Jehovah of the Old Testament. ‘I AM’ was equated with Jesus, meaning Jehovah is My salvation. Saul strove to identify His Deity with the Man of Galilee.
v6 He confessed HIM as Lord, Greek ‘kurios‘. Transformation! Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, jettisoning God‘s eternal plan- demanding reparation of Calvary. Now Saul is converted, brand new through and through: the harvest of Calvary suffering.
v7 Men accompanying him heard a sound from heaven., leaving them speechless . The Lord Jesus had incredibly revolutionized their master. How many of these men became believers? Unforgettable.
V 8 When Saul arose, with open eyes, yet without natural vision, this arrogant man was meekly led by the hand into Damascus. The inward miracle has made him a new creation 2 Corinth 5:17., replacing the stony heart. Khrushchev , Russian President, banished his wife to Gulag Siberia for her faith in Christ. In a Black Sea bible conference, Khrushchev rose petrifying those present. He explained he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ from Scripture learned in France as student. He now bowed before the Lord Jesus, acknowledging His sovereignty. His plane crashed. He was destined for heaven.
v9 Why was Saul sightless three days? Abraham and Isaac sought Moriah for sacrifice, (a three days’ journey )but they would not renege. Joshua waited for three days with his entire army prior to his entry to Canaan. Esther, risking her life, fasted prior to seeing the king for the same period. Jonah was incarcerated in a fish, his longest 72 hours. The Son of God was crucified; his body laid in the tomb - He was gloriously raised from the dead. 3 bible days were significant. Always look for the meaning.
V 10 Ananias( meaning the Lord is gracious )showed his responsive availability to meet the disreputable firebrand Saul..‘ Here am I.’ Are we: or would we have run a mile.?
V 11 The Lord gave the precise address from heaven. And the convincing word, ‘He prays’ . Ananias is forgiven for thinking, ’ Not Saul‘, devastated that a mass murderer was interceding.
V 12 Saul’s vision identified Ananias as his human rescuer, assured he would receive his sight, so he could scrutinize his parchments, which would reveal the living Christ of God. The Holy Spirit as the bible commentator, would invade and occupy Saul.
Hari Budaya from East Java pushed his bike ten miles (16 kms ) through tropical storm to request a new testament, which he read non-stop for 7 days . After Bible school, He pastored a church in their capital. Never minimize the impact of the Word of God read voraciously and searchingly.
V13 ‘Saul had brought harm to saints at Jerusalem‘, while those at Damascus heard of terrifying atrocities. They would naturally be wary of this talented man, Jerusalem’s brilliant scholar.
V 15 God had decreed, ‘He is a Chosen vessel to ME: to bear My ( endeared) Name before Gentiles, kings, children of Israel‘. Contrast Peter’s call to evangelize the Jews, both God’s own specialists..
V16 Saul felt no soft, light-hearted attraction , for ‘He must suffer for My Name’s sake‘ , regarding the preeminent power of His Name. Paul was gratified with the immediate presence of the risen Christ, even though his life would be interwoven with perpetual hardship. .
V17Ananias confidently announced, ‘ The Lord Jesus appeared to you. Receive your sight ( not cognizant of Saul’s unbearable longing to scrutinize OT scrolls ) Be filled with Holy Spirit‘. Paul authored this revealing truth of Ephesians 5 detailing the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.
V19 The risen Christ restored Saul’s sight as obstructive scales naturally dropped from his eyes, granting visual access to all the old Testament literature. Saul confirmed that the resurrected Lord had released him.
Saul was baptized into his Lord’s atoning death ( crucified with Christ ); his old nature buried with HIM in the grave; He entered into His rising again. ( risen to walk in newness of life.) What the newly-converted Saul partly understood., the resuscitated Paul later penned in liberating letters.
v20 Immediately Saul preached. Christ as the Anointed , the Messiah, Prophet, Priest and King as the SON of God. Saul did not compromise with eternal truth, nor softened the message of the cross , nor exalted his proud, superior self. Christ only shall be magnified by Saul’s life and death. .
v22 ‘Jesus is the Christ’ was the theme of his three years’ research in remote Arabia.
Intense, solitary studying of the scrolls demanded spiritual vision., intellectual acumen, an open mind and willingness to receive directly from the gracious Holy Spirit. .
My Arabia was my hospital walk with my Lord in WW11.( Egypt, Israel, Papua New Guinea).
Where is your’s?.