1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:07,520 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:11,520 disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,760 for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found 4 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:21,200 any belonging to the way men or women, he might bring them bound 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,160 to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,040 approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven 7 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:31,040 shone around him, and falling to the ground he heard a voice 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,200 saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:40,920 And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, I am 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,000 who you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and 11 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:45,760 you will be told what you are to do. 12 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,600 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:54,120 the voice, but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and 14 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,520 although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. 15 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,560 So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 16 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,560 And for three days he was at he was without sight, and neither 17 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,840 ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,360 Damascus named Anias. And the Lord said to him in a 19 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:16,080 vision, Anias. And he said, Here I am Lord. 20 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,480 And the Lord said to him, Rise and go to the street, call 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,080 straight, and at the House of Judas look for a man of Tarsus 22 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,240 named Saul. For behold, he is praying, and 23 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:31,280 he has seen in a vision a man named Anais come in and lay his 24 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,400 hands on him, so that he may he might regain his sight. 25 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,520 But Anais answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, 26 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,920 how much evil he has done to your Saints at Jerusalem, and 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,880 here he has authority from the chief priests to buy all who 28 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,440 call on your name. But the Lord said to him, Go, 29 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,440 for he is the chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before 30 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,280 the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will 31 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,000 show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. 32 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,680 So when I was departed and entered the house, and laying 33 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,160 his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 34 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,880 who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, 35 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,200 so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the 36 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,840 Holy Spirit. And immediately something like 37 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,120 scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. 38 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,040 Then he rose and was baptized, and taking food he was 39 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,320 strengthened. For some days he was with 40 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,960 disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed 41 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,200 Jesus in the synagogue, saying, he is the Son of God. 42 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,960 And all who heard him were amazed, and said, Is not, Is not 43 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,960 this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called 44 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,360 upon his name? And has he not come here for 45 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,240 this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? 46 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,800 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the 47 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,720 Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the 48 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,800 Christ. When many days had passed, the 49 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,920 Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. 50 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,680 They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. 51 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,800 But his disciples took him by night and let him, let him down 52 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,760 through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 53 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,200 And when he had come to Jerusalem he attempted to join 54 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,920 the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not 55 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:27,200 believe that he was a disciple. But Benarbis took him, took him 56 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,640 and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the 57 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:33,400 road he had seen the Lord who spoke to him, and how at 58 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,280 Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,880 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly 60 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,040 in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed 61 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,000 against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. 62 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,280 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to 63 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,240 Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 64 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,200 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria 65 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:02,280 had peace, and was being built up and walking in the fear of 66 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,600 the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 67 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:06,480 It multiplied. This is the word of the Lord. 68 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:19,079 Well, good morning. My name is John. 69 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,400 I'm one of the pastors here. So glad you could be with us 70 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:28,920 today to get us started. I want to, I want you to think 71 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,520 about a time when you were wrong. 72 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,800 Now, I know that that could be uncomfortable to even admit, 73 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,840 much less like, think about and dwell on, right? 74 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:40,160 But hang with me for just a second, all right? 75 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,440 Think about a a time where you were just not kind of wrong, but 76 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,480 dead wrong. Like really, really wrong. 77 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,760 You know what I mean? So wrong you couldn't have hoped 78 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,280 have been right, right? That that's the time we look at 79 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,720 you got that in your head. All right, you got it now. 80 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,120 Good. Now, could anyone have convinced 81 00:04:58,120 --> 00:04:59,880 you that you were wrong at that moment? 82 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,680 What did it take to convince you? 83 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:06,440 Think about that for a second. Some of us, you know, maybe we 84 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,200 could have been convinced. Me. 85 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,480 Nah, Nah, you couldn't have convinced me. 86 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,480 I, I, I can be so convinced that I am right about something and 87 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,800 just be completely and utterly wrong, right? 88 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,840 We all can. You know, I've seen this happen 89 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,080 with me on the Scrabble board with spelling of a word right at 90 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,480 the dinner table when talking about the truthfulness of a 91 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:31,000 historical fact, even right, or simply cultural terms that I've 92 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:31,840 gotten wrong. Right. 93 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:34,880 Has anyone ever heard the term hunky Dory? 94 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:36,240 Yeah. Yeah. 95 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:37,280 OK. Hunky Dory. 96 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,520 Hang with that for a second. It means, you know, things are 97 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,080 good, right? OK. 98 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:46,680 Going great. Well, growing up, my mom would 99 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,640 use a different term. She would say hunky donkey, 100 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,720 hunky donkey. So all the way up into my 101 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,840 teenage years, I thought the phrase was hunky donkey. 102 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:01,960 Yeah. I was completely convinced 103 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,000 because my mom uses it. It was historically all I knew. 104 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:09,680 But one of my friends, you know, in a loving but yet ridiculing 105 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,080 way, he told me he's like, there's no such thing. 106 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,600 It's hunky Dory. There's no such thing as hunky 107 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,600 donkey. And I was like, no way, no way. 108 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,840 No, no, absolutely not. Let me go check my mom, right? 109 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,320 And so I go back to my mom, and to my shock, she says the phrase 110 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,480 is actually hunky Dory. Shattered. 111 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,800 The world I lived in was shattered. 112 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:34,080 I was dead wrong. I had to open. 113 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,680 I had to be proven wrong and accept the reality. 114 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:41,760 See, my overconfidence in what I knew had to be confronted, had 115 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,120 to be confronted. So in a more significant way, 116 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,240 does anyone remember the device called a BlackBerry? 117 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,200 We got any BlackBerry users over here? 118 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:51,640 Oh, OK. All right. 119 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:53,880 Unexpected. Yeah. 120 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,240 For those, you know, for those who don't know what the 121 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,800 BlackBerry is, it was the very first business oriented 122 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:01,160 smartphone. It was. 123 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,480 It's kind of funny to call a smartphone, but it was it was 124 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,720 like a keyboard meets a phone. You smack that thing right on 125 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:09,760 there, right. The keyboard was the real 126 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,880 selling point, though. It was the main thing it did. 127 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,640 What it did was it allowed people to basically check their 128 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,360 e-mail on the go. I know that sounds so normal, 129 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:19,960 but you didn't used to be able to do that. 130 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,040 OK. The keyboard was a big, it was a 131 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,480 big innovation. It was the point of the device. 132 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,280 It's it's what made the phone usable for business. 133 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,720 OK, The keyboard was a thing and BlackBerry, they dominated the 134 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,000 market because of it. OK, Everybody had one of them, 135 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,280 right? Well, when the iPhone showed up 136 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:41,480 and it didn't have a physical keyboard, but a touch keyboard, 137 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,720 the makers of BlackBerry thought that's crazy, That's crazy. 138 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:49,200 Nope, no keyboard. They were just so overconfident. 139 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:50,440 They're like, that's that's silly. 140 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,640 Nobody's going to want that. They said no one's going to want 141 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:56,080 to type on a screen. They said they, they could not 142 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,800 be convinced otherwise. They would never create a 143 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,160 BlackBerry like an iPhone. And they dominated the market. 144 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:07,080 Well, there are no Blackberries, but iPhones are everywhere, 145 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,920 right? Because of their overconfidence 146 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:14,200 in the and in their market domination, they just could not 147 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,880 rethink things. They couldn't rethink it, right? 148 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,600 But they were dead wrong, and it cost them pretty much 149 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:21,520 everything. Yeah. 150 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,840 So our text today is yet another example of someone being 151 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,840 completely wrong and needing to rethink. 152 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:33,320 But often times we struggle and cannot rethink something. 153 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,919 We're so stuck in being right. We're overconfident, right? 154 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,120 We can become so prideful about it that we don't even care 155 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,800 what's right, right. But I'm not, you know, I'm not 156 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:46,680 used to. I'm not going to use a touch 157 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:48,360 keyboard. That's dumb, right? 158 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,960 I know it's the right phrase. I know what my mom told me. 159 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,240 I was taught that. But we're blinded and we're 160 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,280 stuck and we don't even know it and we have to be confronted. 161 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:04,280 So today, as we finish up the season in Acts, I want us to see 162 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:11,560 that you might be stuck, but but there is a power to rethink that 163 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:13,240 creates a different kind of future. 164 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,680 There is a a power to rethink that creates a different kind of 165 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:19,520 future. So we're going to take this text 166 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,000 in three passes, if you will. It's kind of like painting a 167 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:23,960 painting. We're going to start in the 168 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:25,480 background. We're going to move to the the 169 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:27,280 mid ground and to move to the foreground. 170 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,480 See what actually this text is showing us. 171 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,200 We're going to look at a power, a rethinking and a different 172 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,520 future. So a power, a rethinking and a 173 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:38,560 different future. Let's jump into it. 174 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,360 First, a power. Let's look at the power that 175 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,680 Saul is wielding. Look back at verse one, it says, 176 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,320 but Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the 177 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,240 disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him 178 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:58,960 for letters to the synagogues at Damascus so that if he found any 179 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:03,400 belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them 180 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,600 bound, I mean, you know, cuffed to Jerusalem. 181 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:09,800 See, he went to the high priest to make sure he had the 182 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:13,360 authority to round up any belonging to the way. 183 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,200 And this is a early term for Christians, if you're not 184 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,520 familiar. So Paul had the power and 185 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,880 authority of the religious leaders of Israel to try and rid 186 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,960 themselves of the way. OK, Saul was determined. 187 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,840 See. Notice no one asks Saul to do 188 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,440 this. He asked them to do this. 189 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,640 OK, See, Saul is entrepreneurial and utterly convinced that what 190 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:37,520 he is, what he's doing, is right. 191 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:41,200 See, All his creative energy is invested in extinguishing the 192 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,480 way he hopes for a better Israel without the way. 193 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,280 That's that's what he intends. And he intends to see that he's 194 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,240 driven. He has an intentional internal 195 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,840 motivation, A zealousness that's in him, self motivated. 196 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,280 He has the credentials and he intends to use them and he's 197 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,920 going to see this thing through. And so far, if you've been 198 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:02,920 reading along in Acts, that's what we would expect. 199 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,080 The story's been building up to this point, but something 200 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,440 happens. Something surprisingly happens. 201 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,080 Let's look at the next display of power. 202 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,200 See Saul's walking and suddenly he is surrounded by light, and a 203 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,520 voice speaks to him. Verse 3, it says, Now as he went 204 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:24,640 on his way, he approached Damascus. 205 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,400 And suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 206 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,480 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, 207 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:33,400 Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 208 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:40,520 And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you 209 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,480 are persecuting. But rise and enter the city and 210 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,320 you will be told what you are to do. 211 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,960 Notice the swiftness of the of this power, a flash of light, a 212 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:54,240 pronouncement that I am Jesus from a voice, a command to go to 213 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,120 Damascus and wait further orders. 214 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:58,040 And that's it. That's what happened. 215 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,080 The risen Christ speaks and things changed. 216 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,720 That's what happened. But notice Jesus identifies with 217 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,120 the people Saul's persecuting. Notice that. 218 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,800 See, he says, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 219 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,920 The persecution of Christians the way is the same as 220 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,600 persecuting Jesus himself. See, Saul's getting a really 221 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,680 quick but profound theology lesson here that would mark him 222 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:23,920 for the rest of his life. See, Jesus is the head of the 223 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:25,760 body, and the body is his people. 224 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,920 Jesus is united to his people. To persecute them is to 225 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:32,480 persecute Him. See, friends and faith family, 226 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:37,360 if you are in Christ, you are united to Jesus in very deep and 227 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:41,080 profound way, so much so that to mess with you is to mess with 228 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,320 Him. But let's keep going. 229 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,920 Verse 7 says the men who were traveling with him stood 230 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,520 speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one. 231 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,200 And Saul rose from the ground and although his eyes were 232 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,400 opened, he saw nothing. See, Saul was blind after the 233 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,840 experience. The the play on words and the 234 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,720 irony here are really, really thick and I think intentional. 235 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,360 See, now Luke says although his eyes were open, he saw nothing. 236 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,280 Now Luke is mostly, he's mostly describing that he had his eyes 237 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:11,760 physically open, but he didn't see anything. 238 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,920 OK, but the irony of what was happening is there too. 239 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,800 A man blinded to the way and persecuted Jesus and his people. 240 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:23,120 And his people can now see the reality of Jesus, but now he 241 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,840 cannot see anything else. He's sober, but now blind. 242 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:31,960 You see how ironic that is? See what we see here is a power 243 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,080 that stops this driven, entrepreneurial, conviction 244 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,920 filled man in his tracks. And in an instant things are 245 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,800 over. He's confronted with the king. 246 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:42,040 See, I've always thought like that. 247 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,960 Saul's question was interesting. He says, who are you Lord? 248 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,120 Why did he say that? See, Saul understands power. 249 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,720 That's why he got the letters from the high priest in the 1st 250 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,120 place. He gets power he's confronted 251 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:58,680 with a a voice of power and he rightly asked who are you Lord 252 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,320 he he understood that he was in the presence of power. 253 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,200 OK, see another accounts actually saw and actually 254 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,480 further down in Acts Saul indicates that he actually saw 255 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,240 the risen Christ. He didn't just hear a voice, he 256 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,200 saw him. He saw Jesus in this account. 257 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,840 He writes later on in first Corinthians 15/8. 258 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:20,480 It says last of all this is Saul writing as as to 1 untimely 259 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:22,600 born. He appeared also to me. 260 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,680 It took a power demonstrated through Christ appearing in 261 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:31,120 blindness to stop him. Think about it took a lot. 262 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,240 This was a world shattering moment for Saul, an encounter 263 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,760 with the living God that reorients him to reality. 264 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:39,960 It wakes him up. It causes him to stop. 265 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:44,360 It sobers him to what's real. But that's not all that 266 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,240 happened, right? Look at the next demonstration 267 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,960 of power. The Lord appears in a vision to 268 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:55,200 Ananias and he tells him to go find him and lay hands on him so 269 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,240 that he might regain his sight. Right? 270 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,400 Ananias didn't want to go at 1st and we'll talk more about that 271 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,960 in a minute, but he goes and here's what the text says. 272 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,880 Verse 17 said So Ananias departed and entered the house 273 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,560 and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord 274 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,920 Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent 275 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:19,080 me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the 276 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,560 Holy Spirit. And immediately something like 277 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,960 scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. 278 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,200 And then he rose and was baptized and taking food. 279 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,080 He was strengthened. Imagine this. 280 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,640 Imagine the scene Ananias shows up to the Random House. 281 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,160 You've never been there. It's a Random House because the 282 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,800 Lord told him to go. It's for some and it. 283 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,160 And on top of that, he's actually going to meet someone 284 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,480 who would normally cuff him and take him to prison. 285 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:52,120 But trusting the Lord, he simply declares that the Lord sent him. 286 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:54,720 He walks in there and he just does what he's told to do. 287 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,600 He even calls him brother at this point. 288 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:58,080 We'll talk more about that in a second. 289 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,760 But Ananias probably just put his hands gently on his, on his 290 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:03,640 shoulders, on his head, because he's, you know, he's sitting 291 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:04,880 down. He's blind, so you can't see 292 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:06,720 anything. So he's sitting down and 293 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,480 something like scales falls. And Saul blinks his eyes, if you 294 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,440 can imagine that. And he stands up and he seeks 295 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,720 baptism. This is the power. 296 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:17,760 This is the power beyond this world. 297 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,440 Flashes of light, blindness, visions, and healing. 298 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:23,840 What does it mean? What is? 299 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:26,680 What is? What is Luke saying here? 300 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,920 I think he's saying this salvation is an act of God's 301 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,240 grace. It's an act of God's grace. 302 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,920 Here's what I mean. Saul didn't want to be saved. 303 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,480 He didn't. Saul didn't think he needed to 304 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,480 be saved. Saul wasn't an atheist though, 305 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:48,040 he was a spare cycle Jew. See Saul was zealous for God and 306 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,680 did all the religious things, yet in his religiosity he was so 307 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,040 far from God he didn't even know it. 308 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,560 He didn't even know it. His prideful self righteousness 309 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,040 led him to imprisoning people who were loving and caring for 310 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,800 people just like Jesus did. That's who he's locking up. 311 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,960 Who is he? He's not locking up criminals, 312 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,480 but just simple Jesus followers. Saul was nationalistic. 313 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,480 Saul was religious. Saul was traditional, moral and 314 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,079 lawful. He was being true to himself 315 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:19,800 even, but yet he was completely wrong. 316 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:22,800 Completely wrong. He didn't want anything to do 317 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,560 with Jesus or the way he was actually trying to stamp it out. 318 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:29,600 It was quite the opposite. Now you may not be trying to 319 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,720 stamp out Christianity, but but friends, is that you? 320 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,600 Do you see something similar in yourself? 321 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,920 Even if it is, we see a power here in this text that overcomes 322 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:43,360 all of it. Why? 323 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,160 Because God grabbed him. God grabbed him. 324 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:50,240 He can grab you as well. See, things can change because 325 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,720 God's grace is powerful. It's powerful. 326 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,520 So this means no one is too far gone for God's grace. 327 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,360 No one is too power prideful for God's grace. 328 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,440 God has the power to stop and grab us. 329 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,320 He can say Nope, Nah, you're going this way now. 330 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,520 He grabbed Saul on the road, Damascus on Damascus Rd. 331 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:10,880 It wasn't based on anything that Saul had done. 332 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,560 Actually it was in spite of what he's doing. 333 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,560 Friends, you don't do good works to make things right between you 334 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,560 and God. Look at Saul, he was trying to 335 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:21,800 do good things and ended up being so far off. 336 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:25,840 You don't even necessarily have to be interested. 337 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,280 Saul wasn't interested, but yet he finds you fake family. 338 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:34,600 You may think you found God, but I promise you, I promise you he 339 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:36,240 found you. He found you. 340 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,280 Maybe you feel as if you're you're not that bad. 341 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:42,080 Neither did Saul, but he didn't measure up. 342 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:45,560 But I assure you he was the real deal. 343 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,800 If you look further into his bio as a Jewish religious up and 344 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,120 Comer, he was crushing it. He was crushing it. 345 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,880 Yet in the Kingdom of God, it doesn't matter because entrances 346 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,120 of the Kingdom is by grace. That's what he learned today. 347 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,200 Jesus grabbed him because salvation is an act of God's 348 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,400 unmerited grace. It's something you don't 349 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,360 deserve. See, Saul was never stopping. 350 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:10,360 He was never stopping. He wasn't. 351 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:14,040 He was determined. He took it took God's power to 352 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,640 change things. The first thing he does is 353 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,920 confront us in our wrongness. That's the first thing he does 354 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,560 here, and that's what he's going to do with each and every one of 355 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,640 us. The whole road to Damascus 356 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:29,400 experience was a confrontation of Saul in his sin and failure. 357 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,360 OK. When the gospel comes to us, it 358 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,840 first confronts us in our sinfulness. 359 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,920 It's stingingly hits our pride, right? 360 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:40,680 Saul had heard of Jesus. He had. 361 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,560 That's the whole point of him persecuting them, right? 362 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:47,600 See, Saul was there. He was there when Stephen spoke 363 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,200 and gave his little spill, and then he held the coats of those 364 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,400 who killed him. See, Saul had heard the gospel. 365 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:58,320 He knew what the way was, and he just could not rethink Jesus. 366 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:02,600 He couldn't do it in his pride. He was not willing to reconsider 367 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:06,640 that the God of Israel was doing something unexpected that he 368 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,160 was. Doing something new. 369 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,600 He just couldn't get there. His pride produced an 370 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:14,040 overconfidence that led to the conviction that he had to be 371 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,560 right, that Jesus couldn't be who he claimed to be. 372 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:22,120 This triggered a what's called a confirmation bias where like he 373 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:24,560 interprets everything that was happening to support his 374 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,000 existing beliefs. A man died right in front of him 375 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,800 with the same compassion as Jesus and he and he just 376 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,320 couldn't see it. The man said, do not hold this 377 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,560 against him, just like Jesus did, But Paul couldn't see it. 378 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,240 His desire, his desirability, biases, they they pushed him to 379 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,760 favor information that reinforces what he wanted to be 380 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:49,440 true, which then further validates his convictions and 381 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,200 keeps him from ever considering Jesus. 382 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,680 He could not be convinced. The cycle of overconfidence 383 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,280 could not be broken. It could not be broken. 384 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,120 The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, starts with some 385 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:05,320 very, very bad news for us. You have to have bad news before 386 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,360 there's good news, OK? You and I, although created in 387 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,120 God's image, want nothing to do with him. 388 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,360 We want to live apart from Him. Or if we pursue some sort of 389 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:19,600 religious life, it's usually just to use God to get what we 390 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,920 want. So either we don't want him or 391 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,800 we want to use Him to get to make the life that we always 392 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:26,920 wanted. It's like, it's like we throw up 393 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,280 prayers to hit God, like a pinata to get candy to fall out. 394 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,520 That's what we want. The bad news is that there is no 395 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,200 way out of this predicament on our own. 396 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,320 See, we are stuck in our own overconfidence. 397 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:42,680 We can't see and apart from God's grace, that is all of us, 398 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,560 every single person on planet earth who's ever lived. 399 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,880 But God's grace has the power to confront and breakthrough 400 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,120 because God aims at the heart. He aims at the heart. 401 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:55,960 The source of our confirmation and desirability biases is 402 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:57,720 pride. It's pride. 403 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,760 It's a heart issue. Our problem and Saul's problem 404 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,720 wasn't information or education. Let me say that one more time. 405 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,520 Saul's problem was not information. 406 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:10,160 It was not education. He's not dumb, right? 407 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,080 He didn't. It's not that he didn't have the 408 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,760 the knowledge, it's desires. It's what he wants. 409 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:21,200 The problem is the heart. Jesus loves Saul by confronting 410 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:25,480 him in his pride and breaking through his biases and it opens 411 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:29,680 the door to rethinking. So let's take a look at 412 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:35,480 rethinking. While it it cannot be overstated 413 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,720 that encountering the risen Christ on a Damascus Rd. would 414 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:40,600 just be amazing and I'm here for it. 415 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,760 I'm all about it. I, I can't tell how many times 416 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,400 as a, as a new believer, I would sit here and read this text and 417 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:46,960 it's like, man, Jesus, would you do that? 418 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,160 You know, it's amazing. And I long for the day, hear me, 419 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,800 hear me. I long for the day to see Jesus 420 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:58,160 face to face. I long for that day but Jesus 421 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,040 confronts Saul for a reason and does something amazing in his 422 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,440 life and that is what the point is. 423 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,840 OK so at the beginning of the text it said this if you 424 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,040 remember verse one. But Saul still breathing threats 425 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:15,160 and murder against the disciples of the Lord, he was fixed in his 426 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:16,800 position. We've made that case, right? 427 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:18,600 And thoughts about Jesus and his people. 428 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,720 But then everything happens, All the stuff, the confrontation 429 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:23,080 with Jesus and then the blindness. 430 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,640 But notice what verse 9 says. We kind of breezed over that a 431 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:28,400 minute ago. Verse 9, Look back there. 432 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,560 And for three days, let that sit in. 433 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,000 For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank. 434 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,920 So for three days, Saul sat in the dark. 435 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,560 He sat in the dark. Can you imagine how traumatic 436 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,160 the whole thing must have really been if you really think about 437 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,720 that? And walking down the road, flash 438 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:49,840 the light voice. I can't see it anymore. 439 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,480 He was confronted with his, you know, for three days, he had the 440 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:59,240 space to basically think and reflect about what happened. 441 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,120 See, Jesus was exactly who the disciples said he was. 442 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,800 He knew in that moment, but now he had the space to think about 443 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,280 it. For three days he was confronted 444 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,480 with his own pride. He had to undergo a death. 445 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,720 Even I wonder if if he recounted what Stephen said before he was 446 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:20,840 killed, Sitting there staring Into Darkness, with only his 447 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:22,960 thoughts to occupy him, nothing else. 448 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:27,040 He could do that, and some dude was supposed to come and heal 449 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,240 him. He has his vision, right? 450 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:33,320 But I wonder if he finally began to rethink everything. 451 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,440 See Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist. 452 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,680 He says this. He says confirmation bias is 453 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,480 twisting the facts to fit your beliefs. 454 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,600 You twist the facts to fit your beliefs, but critical thinking 455 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,760 is bending your beliefs to fit the facts. 456 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:55,640 OK, I wonder if that is what was happening in Saul's head. 457 00:24:56,200 --> 00:25:00,280 He was rethinking to bend his beliefs to fit the facts that 458 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,760 had confronted him. OK, the very thing he would not 459 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,560 do and could not do before the Damascus Rd. is now what he's 460 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,240 doing. Grant also says this. 461 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,240 He just has put this very specifically. 462 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:16,160 He says seeking the truth is not about validating the story in 463 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:17,560 your head. Let me say that again. 464 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,160 Seeking the truth is not about validating the story in your 465 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,240 head. It's about rigorously vetting 466 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,880 and accepting the story that matches the reality in the 467 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:27,720 world. OK? 468 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,840 Saul was confronted with reality. 469 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,360 Jesus has risen. See the resurrection validates 470 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,000 all the claims of Jesus and solidifies the reality that he 471 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:41,120 is the God, man who is king. He is the Christ, the chosen 1 472 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,280 the Messiah. All those mean the same thing. 473 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,200 He had the power to blind Saul. He was. 474 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:50,920 He was who they said he was. He was confronted with that 475 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,840 reality and he had to square that of the way he thought. 476 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,880 But what did what did, what had to happen in Saul's heart was a 477 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:02,280 change from pride to humility. He had to be humble enough to 478 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,560 rethink it all. That's a prerequisite. 479 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:06,840 See the $1,000,000 question, though, is this. 480 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,480 Can we bring ourselves to humility? 481 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,480 Can we bring ourselves? Can can we work our way out of 482 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,640 our own pride? Can humans practice their way 483 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,080 into humility? That's the question. 484 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:24,040 And on the one hand, there is an ability to stay, to stay curious 485 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,400 and be open to being wrong. We can't invite dissenting 486 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:29,720 opinions and push ourselves to rethink assumptions. 487 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:34,960 But it's still all assuming that we can accept that we could be 488 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,440 wrong. See, there's an assumption made 489 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,360 by thinkers like Adam Graham, who I just quoted, that assumes 490 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:45,200 that we would want to rethink. And the reality is we don't. 491 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,880 Saul is prideful, but on the one hand, I just don't think we 492 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,480 could bring, he couldn't bring himself to rethink. 493 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,760 He couldn't do it. I don't think he could have 494 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,560 humbled himself. He needed something outside 495 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,280 himself. He needed God's grace. 496 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,400 And that's why there was a Damascus road to experience to 497 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,680 begin with. So no, we cannot humble 498 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,160 ourselves. Grant is right and seeing our 499 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:13,120 need for humility, but apart from grace, the humility we need 500 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:15,640 won't be there. Essentially, especially with the 501 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,320 things of God. You just can't make your, your 502 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,440 yourself humble. See, God's grace comes to it, to 503 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,880 him, that is to Saul. And then the rethinking comes. 504 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:28,040 If there's an order to it, God's grace, then rethinking. 505 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:30,240 He needs a power outside themselves. 506 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,920 Friends, you may be here and and you need to rethink Jesus. 507 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:35,960 You need to rethink Jesus just like Saul. 508 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:41,480 The only way that happens is by God's grace, the blinders have 509 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,880 to be removed, the scales have to fall off, saw is confronted 510 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,360 and, and, and that basically smacked the pride right out of 511 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:51,000 them for some of us. It's not a Damascus Rd. 512 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,280 experience, like it's not flash of light and all the things, but 513 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,240 it's sometimes it's quite ordinary, but it's still God's 514 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,480 grace working in your life. OK, See, I heard, I heard a 515 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:02,440 testimony recently of this one lady the other day. 516 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,040 And she lived in New York City when 911 happened. 517 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:10,840 OK, she actually worked across the street from the the towers 518 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,080 themselves, but she went into work later that day. 519 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:18,520 And basically in the aftermath of all that, she, she realized 520 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:22,280 how shallow her life was and even the goals for her life, she 521 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,400 realized how shallow they were. And she decided to check out a 522 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:27,720 church soon after that, she didn't know what else to do. 523 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:30,640 She just, she went into the service and she sat there and 524 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,320 she listened to the pastor. And now she had historically 525 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,600 struggled with the idea of the crucifixion, that Jesus would 526 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:40,520 actually die, that would die and God would actually want him to 527 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,040 die. But that day she finally gave 528 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,760 things another hearing. She rethought it and she 529 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:52,160 listened and the Lord showed her, showed her that day that 530 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,120 the crucifixion, it was for her that Jesus had stepped in her 531 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,680 place for her sin. He had substituted themselves. 532 00:28:58,680 --> 00:28:59,960 And the Lord did something amazing. 533 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:03,400 He opened her heart through that sermon and grabbed her just like 534 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,280 Saul, just sitting in a service. That's how it happened for her. 535 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,760 While it doesn't have to be in a church service, that's how it 536 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,520 happens for anyone who has been saved from their sin through 537 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:14,840 repentance of faith in Jesus Christ. 538 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,480 This is what God does. What we get is an extraordinary 539 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:20,680 example of what God does for all who are who believe. 540 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,120 See, Saul didn't sign up to be a part of a community. 541 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,760 He didn't. Saul wasn't looking for a place 542 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:28,720 to belong. He already had his people. 543 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:32,320 OK, but God grabbed him. God grabbed him. 544 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,240 See, Saul was humble and re evaluated. 545 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,120 There was a willingness there after the blindness and all the 546 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:42,360 stuff that that there wasn't there before and God put it 547 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,200 there for three days of darkness. 548 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,760 He repented and put the pieces together. 549 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,880 And then verse 19 happens. So look back at verse 19. 550 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,720 For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus and 551 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,400 immediately he he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue, saying 552 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:03,400 he is the Son of God. And all who heard him were 553 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:07,600 amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem 554 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:09,600 of those who called upon his name? 555 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:12,440 And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them 556 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,480 bound for the chief priest? But Saul increased all the more 557 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,840 in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by 558 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,280 proving, proving that Jesus was the Christ. 559 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:26,720 Saul not only rethought, he realized that if Jesus is the 560 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,960 Son of God and he is the Christ, others must know what he was 561 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,760 unwilling to know. They must be confronted just as 562 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:38,000 he was, and that's what he did. See, maybe you're here and you 563 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,920 are in the process of rethinking some things. 564 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,880 Well, welcome. Christianity wasn't it's, it's 565 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,080 not about checking your brain at the door. 566 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,920 It's not following Jesus King involves our whole selves, 567 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,320 including our minds. God calls people everywhere to 568 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,400 rethink, or the Bible's word for it. 569 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:02,520 Repent and trust in Jesus If you're here and you're 570 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,320 rethinking things, let's talk more, please. 571 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,160 Let's grab a coffee, a doughnut, a lunch, whatever. 572 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,400 Let's just discuss and let's keep looking into these things. 573 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:17,200 Let's talk through it but it but faith family as we are are 574 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,400 faithful with our relationships. Hear me, faith, family, as we 575 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,440 are faithful in our relationships to confront others 576 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:27,360 and to rethink Jesus, realize it takes humility from God for it 577 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,640 to happen, OK? We need God to move. 578 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,120 So when we pray this week, ask Him to give others eyes to see 579 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:35,920 and ears to hear. It will not happen. 580 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,800 Apart from that, it won't see. All right, so we've seen the 581 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:41,640 power. We've seen the rethinking. 582 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:45,360 Now let's look at the different future God creates, OK? 583 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:51,040 When grace humbles us, it doesn't leave us where we are, 584 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,040 see? It sends us to a different 585 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,240 future. That's beautiful. 586 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,840 See, when Saul woke up that day, he, he imagined things going 587 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:03,040 quite differently. His day wasn't supposed to work 588 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:04,920 out this way. He had a different life plan. 589 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,760 He had a fair saical career budding, all thanks to the 590 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,120 rising of the way. And he was see, and you know, he 591 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:12,920 was seeking to squash that out and he had and that that was 592 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,080 his, that was his deal. That's what the plan was. 593 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,880 And in no way, shape or form did he think he would go from a a 594 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,440 hunter of Christians to being hunted by people like him. 595 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,040 But that's what happened. See the miracle of this story is 596 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,000 that God took an enemy and made him a brother. 597 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,360 Saul's reputation was widely known among all those who 598 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:36,560 followed the way that is Christians. 599 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:38,480 See, look back at what Ananias said. 600 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:42,160 We we breezed past it earlier. Verse 13, it said, but Ananias 601 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,880 answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how 602 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,600 much evil he has done to your Saints at Jerusalem. 603 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:52,520 And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who 604 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:55,200 call your name. And then look further down at 605 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:57,400 look at what the people said when he sought to share the 606 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,080 Gospel for the first time publicly. 607 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,680 He said, verse 21. And all who heard him were 608 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:05,440 amazed and said, is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem 609 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,440 of those who called upon this name? 610 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,800 And has he not come here for this purpose to bring them bound 611 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,840 before the chief priest? See, Saul made a name for 612 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,560 himself and people were completely thrown off by him 613 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:18,480 proclaiming Jesus. They were like, wait, what? 614 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:21,560 What is he saying? See, the Jewish leaders began to 615 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:24,640 to wise up to the fact that Saul was no longer locking up 616 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,000 Christians. He was one, right? 617 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,480 So they decided they had better get rid of this guy. 618 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:31,720 Like, whoa, this ain't this ain't going the way we we 619 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:32,600 planned. So they plotted. 620 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,040 They had a plan to kill him. It's funny how things quickly 621 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,680 changed for him, right? So they lowered him in a basket 622 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,360 that his disciples through the wall so he could escape. 623 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,840 And then he goes to Jerusalem, and you think, Oh, OK, Verse 26 624 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:50,480 He says, And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join 625 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:53,480 the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not 626 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,000 believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and 627 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,960 brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road 628 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:03,280 he had seen the Lord who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he 629 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,320 had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 630 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,920 Verse 28. So he went in and out among them 631 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,320 at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 632 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,000 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenist, but they 633 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,159 were seeking to kill him. And when the other others 634 00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:17,960 learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and send them 635 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,960 off to Tarsus. Saul had a reputation that is, 636 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:25,960 it seemed impossible that that It seemed impossible that him 637 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:27,800 being a Christ follower was even true. 638 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,960 They thought he must be a spy or something, trying a tactic to 639 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,520 get them to trust him. I would have thought that they 640 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,760 thought he was Kanye basically, but we won't get in that. 641 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,000 But this isn't. This isn't the future that he 642 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,560 had planned. He went from being in power with 643 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:48,239 the religious elites to being on the run from hunter to haunted. 644 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,400 But there are two things that we need to see here in this future 645 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:56,000 that that that God had for him. We and that we learn about the 646 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,880 power of the gospel in this narrative that that the the the 647 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,640 future creates. The first one is this the gospel 648 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:06,720 makes enemies brothers. Notice that Ananias call Saul 649 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:08,640 brother. OK, that's significant. 650 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,480 Also notice the believers in Damascus. 651 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,720 The believers in Damascus, they hide him and help him to escape. 652 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:19,920 You see that? Notice that Barnabas stands up 653 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,600 for Saul and gives witness to everyone that he's legit. 654 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,960 Notice how they accept Saul into the community. 655 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:31,280 Notice that how that happens is the fact that the gospel makes 656 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,600 us family. In Christ. 657 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:37,480 We are united to one another. We have a bond that transcends 658 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,920 in any sports, team, nationality or shared experience. 659 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:46,320 It's it's why I can go to the jungles of Peru and sit across 660 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,120 from a brother who doesn't even speak the same language as me. 661 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:53,080 We can't communicate, but I feel a closeness to him that is 662 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:56,960 spiritual. The gospel makes people brothers 663 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,320 and sisters. Take Port City for example. 664 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:02,120 There are people in this church who would probably not be 665 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:04,080 friends if it were not for Jesus. 666 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:08,000 No offense to anybody, but Jesus unites us. 667 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:11,320 We're different like, but we probably would have been 668 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:13,120 friends. But Jesus has made us so. 669 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,320 He's made us more than that. He's united us together as a 670 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,160 family. So although Saul goes from 671 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,360 hunter to haunted, he is graciously embraced by other 672 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,760 believers. Why? 673 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,400 Because they knew that entrance is by grace and not merits. 674 00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,800 But there's something else that the gospel does to to people 675 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,480 that made this possible. There's a second thing. 676 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:37,680 So it makes enemies into brothers. 677 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,360 The second thing is the gospel makes oppressors. 678 00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:46,680 Advocates, don't miss this one. This is actually the foreground. 679 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:49,640 This is actually what Luke is trying to hone in and get us to 680 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,720 see. OK, if Saul had not had an 681 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:55,240 inward transformation, check this. 682 00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:58,720 If he had not had an inward transformation, he would have 683 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:02,480 turned all his entrepreneurial zeal and rage to a new target 684 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,680 called non Christians who'd have done the same thing, just a 685 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:08,360 different team. But that's not what happened. 686 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:11,200 He didn't just take one thing and replace another. 687 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:14,640 No, that's not what happened. God took an impressor and filled 688 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:18,480 him with grace, compassion, love, patience, and made him an 689 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,600 advocate. Saul advocated to the Jewish 690 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:25,240 community what he had had not, what he had not seen himself, 691 00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:26,880 and compelled them to trust Christ. 692 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:31,840 He appealed to them as if he were them because he was them. 693 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:38,720 He has compassion on them because if not for the grace of 694 00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:42,360 God, he would be them. Do you understand that? 695 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:46,520 He became their advocate. But he doesn't just advocate for 696 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,120 Jews, He advocates for Christians. 697 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:53,120 To Jews, see, only the gospel. Only the gospel can take 698 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:56,200 oppressors and include them in a different future. 699 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:00,760 Only the gospel can do that. Think about this profound thing. 700 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:04,360 What I'm saying is this is crazy apart from God's grace. 701 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,560 See, think about the people who are letting them, letting him 702 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:09,560 into their community. Think about that for a minute. 703 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:13,520 Can you imagine for a moment Saul was their biggest fear and 704 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,040 became their biggest advocate and champion of the gospel? 705 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:20,840 Does your philosophical like of your philosophy of life include 706 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:24,160 a category for your greatest enemies becoming a part of your 707 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,160 close knit community? Is that how you imagine your 708 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:28,960 life to be? Do you have categories for the 709 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:30,960 white supremacist becoming your best friend? 710 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:32,200 Do you? Could you? 711 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:35,400 Could you imagine a former Nazi joining you for Thanksgiving? 712 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:37,840 Could you? Could the people who murdered 713 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:40,480 your family become a welcomed confidant? 714 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:45,320 Do do you have a version of the future that that any of this is 715 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:48,080 possible? But that is the power of the 716 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:50,720 gospel and that is what has transpired in the life of of 717 00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:53,880 Saul in the early church. It's astounding. 718 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,480 Don't miss that. That's what's happened. 719 00:38:56,920 --> 00:38:58,960 The oppressor has become advocate. 720 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,160 If you just step back and pause for a minute, the wildness can 721 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:05,600 set in for you. You may not envision a future 722 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,640 where your oppressors become a part of of our faith family, but 723 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:12,120 God does. This is what he has in mind. 724 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,400 See, the gospel has the power to make oppressors friends and it 725 00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:18,800 is the only thing, the only thing that will actually keep us 726 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,720 from becoming oppressors ourselves. 727 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,800 See, isn't it not fascinating that Saul does not become an 728 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:26,720 oppressor of non Christians? He doesn't. 729 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:30,760 The heart that drove him to be an oppressor had changed. 730 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:33,880 See, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that keeps us 731 00:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,160 from being oppressors ourselves. See, Saul does not turn into an 732 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:39,400 oppressor of non Christians because of the grace that was 733 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:41,800 extended to him. And remembering the grace of 734 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:44,840 Jesus showed up on him that day. He could. 735 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,920 How could he turn around and oppress others ever again? 736 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,840 He couldn't. In fact, he will ultimately die 737 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,720 at the hands of people just like him. 738 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:57,840 See, the oppressor was destined to become the oppressed he was. 739 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,040 See, Jesus promises this to him. Look back at verse 15. 740 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:05,920 But the Lord said to him, he's talking to Ananias, go, for he 741 00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:09,360 is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the 742 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:11,520 Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 743 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,360 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my 744 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,720 name. Now side note. 745 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:20,760 If you think a future with Jesus, as always, wealth and 746 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,480 prosperity, look at Jesus promise to Saul. 747 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:26,920 He was going to suffer. And that was God's plan for his 748 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,400 life. That was his plan. 749 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,440 You might not be able to handle that right now, but realize Saul 750 00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:38,120 considered it all a joy to suffer for the sake of Christ. 751 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:41,480 But why? Why would he just like, yeah, 752 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:45,200 I'm good with it because he knew he didn't deserve an ounce of 753 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:47,760 mercy or grace, but he was swimming in it. 754 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,000 He was swimming in it. See, he was no longer an 755 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,120 oppressor but contended for the hearts of others. 756 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:55,960 And I think it's because of this. 757 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:57,600 Like, I'm going to quote something else to you from me 758 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:02,400 that he wrote in Galatians 220. It says I have been crucified 759 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:03,640 with Christ. This is Saul. 760 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:08,040 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the 761 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:12,120 life I now live in the flesh by faith in the Son of God who 762 00:41:12,120 --> 00:41:15,480 loved me and gave himself for me. 763 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:19,880 See, Jesus loved him when he was at his lowest point. 764 00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:23,160 He loved him even though he was the worst of sinners because he 765 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:27,000 he persecuted the church. He never forgot those three days 766 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,480 of darkness. In fact, they shaped the rest of 767 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:32,840 his entire life, shaped his entire life. 768 00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:36,720 This was a radically different future than Saul had in mind. 769 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:39,960 But there's one last thing I want us to see and then we're 770 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:43,640 done. Now you may have been taught, 771 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:47,440 you may have been taught that he changed his name to Paul, OK, 772 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,560 But more than likely he probably already had the name Paul. 773 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,280 But he went by Saul, OK? You see, he was a Jew from 774 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:01,840 Tarsus, which was a Roman city. Saul was a Roman citizen by 775 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,640 birth. He walked in two worlds. 776 00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:06,520 He walked in two worlds. Saul was his Hebrew name, you 777 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:07,880 know, catch that? It's his Hebrew name. 778 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:12,640 And Paul was his Greek name. And later on in Acts, it is 779 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:15,000 mentioned that he was also called Paul. 780 00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:18,760 And then from there on, Luke just refers to him as Paul, and 781 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:20,400 so does the entire New Testament and himself. 782 00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:23,840 So who could blame him though, after the reputation he had and 783 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:25,280 the fact that people wanted to kill him, right? 784 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:28,480 Time for a name change, right? But the remarkable thing is that 785 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:32,920 Saul, now going by Paul, was already a man of two worlds. 786 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:36,600 He had two names. See, Jesus had every intention 787 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,440 of using Paul to take the gospel to Gentiles. 788 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:41,880 See, Paul was perfect for this task. 789 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:44,880 Paul didn't didn't stop being himself. 790 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:48,080 Paul is still a driven entrepreneur. 791 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:52,480 Young guy he was. And when Christ saves us, we're 792 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:56,400 still us. Everything just gets reframed, 793 00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:59,000 OK, just like Paul's life. See, Paul becomes a missionary 794 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:02,240 church planner in urban context throughout the Roman Empire, and 795 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:04,160 he goes on to write most of the New Testament. 796 00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:07,560 But faith, family, we got a real something. 797 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:11,160 When God grabbed you, you didn't stop being you, OK? 798 00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:13,720 You didn't. So there are things, there are 799 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:17,400 unique things that the Lord intends to reframe in your life 800 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:19,560 for His Kingdom. You didn't stop being you. 801 00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:21,600 He still wants to use you just as you are. 802 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:25,280 And I don't know how He's going to do that, but all of your life 803 00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:28,640 becomes an opportunity to make much of the one who has been has 804 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:30,400 made you and saved you from your sin. 805 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,280 See, Saul, who's now Paul, is going to go on to write one of 806 00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:36,560 my favorite lines he ever wrote in First Corinthians. 807 00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:40,000 He says, So whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all 808 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,160 for the glory of God. See, there is a great future 809 00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,240 ahead for you in Christ. It will be different than what 810 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:49,360 you might think it was. And that's OK because in Christ 811 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:51,480 there's a new power to rethink everything. 812 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:54,240 And it creates a different future that God has in mind. 813 00:43:54,880 --> 00:43:57,560 See, God's grace has the power to confront our pride and it and 814 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:00,640 it enables us to rethink and it creates A radically different 815 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:04,000 future for us. Faith, family, this power is to 816 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:08,760 rethink is yours in Christ, and it can and should shape a 817 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:10,640 different future for you and our city. 818 00:44:10,720 --> 00:44:12,760 It should. What might God do? 819 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,400 Imagine a city where enemies become brothers, oppressors 820 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,720 become advocates. We of all people should operate 821 00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:22,160 from a humble, confident posture when it comes to our neighbors, 822 00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:24,480 their ideas and the challenges of life. 823 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:28,560 We are to be a people that can be wrong and are wrong so many 824 00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:31,440 times. We must lean into the Spirit 825 00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:34,840 empowered ability to rethink. Can't be afraid to do that. 826 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:39,240 Friends, this power is available to you through repentance of 827 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:42,560 faith in Jesus. Jesus died and rose again that 828 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:46,040 you might have a new life. The question is, is would you 829 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:49,280 reconsider him? Let's pray. 830 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:55,800 Father in Heaven, I thank you for being you. 831 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:59,560 Father, I thank you for being a creative and generous God. 832 00:44:59,880 --> 00:45:03,120 I thank you for showing us your power and how you redeem Saul. 833 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:07,400 Father, we are all like Saul. Father, thank you that salvation 834 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,800 and being reconnected to a life with you is not based on our 835 00:45:09,800 --> 00:45:13,720 works, but your grace. Thank you for showing us how you 836 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:16,520 grab people. You're the sovereign Lord of all 837 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:18,600 creation and and you willed the hearts of people. 838 00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:22,080 Father, I ask for those here and in our relationships, would you 839 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:24,440 grab them? Would you give them the ability 840 00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:27,320 to rethink and would you create a different future for them? 841 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,320 Father, a future filled with surprising and creative acts of 842 00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:33,680 grace that you longed to do in our great city. 843 00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:36,800 Father, we beg you and we asked with all this, it's for your 844 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:38,360 real fame. Amen.