A Grace Awakening

SERMON: 2012-01-08--ac1278--a-grace-awakening SOURCE DURATION: 00:43:27.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 1 CONFIDENCE: 0.95 APPROVED: false REASON: All provided candidates contain continuous speech content without any clear transition to music, hymns, or announcements. Therefore, the final candidate is selected as it represents the last segment of the sermon material. Acoustic segmentation found sustained music at the end edge and moved the boundary to the adjacent transcript segment. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: 00:40:45.100-00:43:26.120 ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: yes ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: end Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- I think you'll agree with me this morning when I say that even by biblical standards the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, better known to us as the apostle Paul, is by any standard of measurement, nothing short of dramatic. One moment he, according to scripture, is breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, and he is leading a posse of men to Damascus to wreak havoc upon the Christian church there, and then he meets Jesus. He falls to the ground, his life is totally transformed, and then later on in the chapter we find that he is preaching the same Jesus that he previously persecuted. What a dramatic story. And it's no wonder that as the chapter goes on, the believers in Damascus were perplexed and puzzled. I love the way scripture puts it in verse 21 later on in this chapter where it says, "All those who heard him, that is, Saul preaching, were astonished and asked, 'Isn't he the man who caused havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name?' And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" A dramatic turnaround. In the time that we have this morning, I want to examine with you three reasons that I believe scripture gives us as to why Saul was not only converted but why he was converted so dramatically. I think many of us who have gone to church all our lives, we sort of get jealous of people who have dramatic conversions. We wonder, "Am I missing something?" Sometimes we are, sometimes we're not, but we're going to see that where sin abounds, grace abounds more. So I want to talk a little bit about why Saul gets converted and then how that applies for you and me today. So let's see how far we can get in the time that we have this morning. The first reason that I believe scripture gives us for Saul's dramatic conversion is that he was simply chosen by Jesus himself for the work of ministry. Listen again to the verses 15 and 16 of Acts chapter 9. The Lord said to Ananias, that's the disciple who gets to pray over Saul, "Go, this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Very quickly notice three things in those two verses that are important for us. The first is the emphasis on a chosen instrument. Jesus says to Ananias, "This man is my chosen instrument." And while it is true that all of us who are in Christ and who are part of his body have a place on a calling in ministry, it's clear from scripture that there are particular people who are called very specifically to particular ministries. The apostle Paul was one such person and he tells us later on in Galatians chapter 1 verse 15 that God actually chose him or set him apart from before he was born. Imagine that. Talk about feeling special. God had his hand on Saul's life while he was still in his mother's tummy. I can only think of one other instance in scripture where that is said about a given person. Anybody know who that might be? Well, John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from when he was born. Yes, that's true. But there's somebody in the Old Testament who uses almost exactly the same language. Jeremiah, listen to what Jeremiah records in Jeremiah 1 verse 5. God says to him, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." So there are times that God chooses people from the very conception for a particular purpose and Paul or Saul of Tarsus as he is known here, his name changes later on in the Book of Acts to Paul, which is the Greek version of Saul. God chooses him because he's got a very specific ministry in mind for him. That at least in part accounts for his very dramatic conversion because God is not taking any chances that Saul of Tarsus is going to miss the message that is coming his way. But a second thing to notice in those two verses then is that he was not only a chosen instrument but he was chosen for a particular mission. This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. To carry the name of Jesus is to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus. It's to testify that Jesus is the one chosen and called and anointed by God to fix up all the trouble that is in the world. He is the Messiah. And while Paul in his ministry always begins with Jews in the synagogue, because the gospel has to go to the Jews first, his particular passion and calling are the Gentile nations. And so Paul talks in Galatians chapter 2 verse 7 that even as Peter was entrusted with the gospel message for the Jewish people, so Paul was entrusted with the gospel message for the Gentiles. And he talks about magnifying the ministry that God has given him to the Gentiles so that the Jews will become jealous and will also come to faith because at the end of time Jew and Gentile are to come together before the throne of God and experience the blessings of God's eternal kingdom. Third thing then to notice is that he's not only a chosen instrument, he's not only a chosen instrument with a particular mission, but he is going to suffer for that mission. This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Nothing like having it told upfront when you enlist what it is that you're going to face. And you have to only read the rest of the book of Acts or to read the letters that Paul wrote, many of them from prison, to know how true this proved to be. His life in serving Jesus was very costly, eventually ended up costing his life. And there were two reasons for that. The first is that this is the lot of every follower of Jesus. We forget that sometimes. We think that following Jesus just makes our life better and easier, but that's never what scripture teaches. Jesus puts it this way when he calls his disciples, "If any would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." And then Paul in 2 Timothy 3, 12, he says, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." And you and I both know the reason for that. When we march to the drumbeat of heaven, we are at odds with the drumbeat of this world. And sooner or later, there's going to be a clash. Doesn't mean we go looking for it. Doesn't mean that we want to bring it onto ourselves. But it does mean that if you love God passionately and seek to do his will passionately, then sooner or later you will discover that you're taking up your cross, you are denying yourself, and you're following Jesus. Jesus says, "Count the cost if you're going to be my follower." Is it worth it? Of course it is worth it, because we inherit everything Jesus is and everything Jesus has. Everything else will fade away. But the glory of God's eternal kingdom, of which we have a foretaste through the Holy Spirit, is already given to us today. It's the lot of every disciple. But it is especially the lot of apostles to suffer for Jesus' sake. Listen to how Paul puts it later on in 1 Corinthians 4, 9, and 10. He says, "It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are, he says, fools for Christ." He says, "We are on display at the end of the procession." And the picture here is that of a conquering army returning home. And at the end of their victory procession are the captives they have taken in the country they have conquered. And those captives, many of them will be thrown into the arena for the games to fight each other to the death and to be devoured by wild animals. And Paul says, "We apostles, we are at the end of the procession." He says, "We look ridiculous to people and we look ridiculous to the angels in heaven because of our loyalty to Jesus." And so while every believer will suffer opposition at some point in his or her life if he or she is going to follow Jesus, it is magnified untold times for those who are apostles. And the reason for that is that an apostle in scripture is commissioned to take the gospel into new areas. And when you invade new areas, you are invading new principalities and powers who hold sway over the people who are there. And when you begin to proclaim Jesus as Lord and you begin to invite people into union with Christ and to turn their back on their old way of life, every principality and power and every authority that is geared towards the world comes out against you. And so it's in those instances then that God's apostles suffer loss. And it is not coincidental that I believe all the apostles, except maybe John, at the end ended up giving their lives for the faith. I've often said if you're one step ahead, you're a leader. If you're two steps ahead, you're a pioneer. And if you're three steps ahead, guess what, you're a dead duck, you're a martyr. And you can see that all throughout history, you can see it in the history of the church, but you can also see it in the history of the world. Wherever somebody pioneers something new that is at odds with the existing values of a world, the world will turn on you even as they crucified Jesus because they love the darkness rather than the wine. So why was Saul chosen by Jesus? Because Jesus determined he was going to be his chosen instrument to carry his name to the Gentiles and he was going to suffer a lot. And I believe that one of the reasons he had such a vivid revelation of Jesus is he could have never suffered what he needed to suffer to accomplish his life's purposes without that kind of revelation of Jesus, wouldn't you say that's true? Remember the other apostles all knew Jesus. They had been with Jesus. But Paul says in Galatians that as to one untimely born, God chose to reveal his son to Paul. So Paul's being equipped by the revelation of Jesus for a ministry that will one day cost his life. And I believe he was chosen from birth because already in the circumstances of his life and in the wiring that he was put together with, a curious mixture of natural gifting and spiritual learning by the Holy Spirit, God prepared him for the work that he was called to. And I've often thought Paul's natural zeal with which he persecuted Christians once converted and filled with the Holy Spirit became an incredible zeal to accomplish the purposes of God. Paul later says about himself, I worked harder and not to boast, but he said, I worked harder than any of the other apostles because you see Paul always had to prove that he was legit because he was untimely chosen. He wasn't one of the 12 that Jesus had originally selected. Alright, second reason biblically for Saul's dramatic conversion is that prior to his conversion, he simply didn't know any better. He simply didn't know what he was doing. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verses 12, 13 and 14 give us a good insight into his mindset. He says there, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. And notice the way his argument unfolds. He says I was once a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man. To blaspheme is to make mockery of Jesus. To be a persecutor is to try to take Jesus down and to be a violent man is to just be a nasty dude. And this self-analysis of Paul writing to Timothy towards the end of his life is so different from what he might have considered himself in his self-righteous days when he thought he was perfect according to the law. Shows you what happens when God opens your eyes and you begin to see what you're really like. He was breathing threats and murder. He persecuted the church with a vengeance because he was so self-righteous. But he goes on to say God showed me mercy and then he gives us two reasons why the Lord chose to show him mercy. Because he said I acted in ignorance and in unbelief. Let's look at each of those two words for a moment. He says I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance. Now the word ignorance in our culture is often used to describe somebody who's a jerk. Don't be so ignorant. But the real meaning of the word ignorance is of course that you don't know any better. And Saul of Tarsus for all his education, remember he was educated at the feet of Gamaliel, for all his brilliant learning, did not know Jesus and he did not know that he was persecuting Jesus. In fact, he thought he was doing God a favor. And so he acted in ignorance. And while ignorance of the law, the police will tell you, is never an excuse, there's a world of a difference between getting caught for speeding because you deliberately ignore the speed limit or you are speeding accidentally because you're not aware of what the speed limit is. And Paul says concerning himself, I really didn't know what I was doing and God had mercy on me because of my ignorance. Jesus, by the way, on the cross does the very same thing you will recall when he prays, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. God is incredibly merciful to the ignorant. He's not very merciful as we'll see in a few moments to those who should know better. And then he goes on to say, in my unbelief, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The Greek original really says being ignorant, I acted in unbelief and a lot of Bible translations combine it into one phrase, I did it ignorantly in unbelief. But the NIV separates the two, I did it in ignorance and I did it in unbelief. And that means Saul not only did not know who Jesus was and that in persecuting the church he was persecuting Jesus, which of course is what Jesus reminded him of when he revealed himself to Saul, but he had no faith in Jesus either. That is to say he didn't understand his own sin and misery. He didn't understand that he needed saving in a way that he couldn't save himself, that he couldn't be saved by keeping the law. And he didn't believe that Jesus was the one who died on the cross, was raised from the dead, ascended on high, poured out his Holy Spirit, one day is coming again to make all things new. He was ignorant in his unbelief. That's why God shows him mercy. And let me emphasize that there is an incredibly important spiritual principle at work here. As I said earlier, ignorance of the law is never an excuse for sin. But from God's perspective there is a world of a difference between sinning because you don't know any better and because you have not yet come to faith or sinning despite what you know and sinning deliberately when already you are a man or a woman of faith and you should know better. Listen to how Jesus puts it in Luke chapter 12, the verses 47 and 48, "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows, but the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. To him who has been given much, much will be demanded, and to him who has been given little, little is demanded." People ask the question sometimes, "Well, what about all the pagans all over the world and throughout history that have never heard about Jesus? What's going to happen to them on the day of eternity? Will they be saved or will they be lost?" And I say don't worry about it because God is big enough to figure that one out and He knows people's hearts better than you and I do, but we do know that for those of us who have been exposed to the gospel, who know the reality of the gospel message, we are held to a far higher standard because we know better. And just for the record, and I don't want to drive you out of church, but it makes churchgoing a dangerous business because every last one of us will be judged by what we have known and what we have done with what we know. And since you're already in church and many of you have been in church much of your life, leaving now won't help because you've already been had. So the challenge then is we need to live up to the revelation that God has given us in Christ and sometimes, and I worry about this, those of us who hang around Christian circles and go to church a lot, we get inoculated against the gospel. I remember a good friend of mine came from the Netherlands many years ago, was not really a churchgoer, but came to this country and his friends were all going to church so he came along to church and the preacher preached a powerful message in terms of the claims of the gospel and it cut to the core of who he was and he says he remembers standing outside of the church building after the service, trembling in his boots because he knew that his life was not right with God the way that it was. But then he says he looked around at all these other guys and this was in the day when smoking was still very popular and accepted thing and the brothers were all standing around at the entrance to the church smoking their cigarettes and cigars and having great conversations and he said well it doesn't seem to bother them at all and he says he talked himself right out of his conviction because if it was okay for them, it would be okay for him. And many years went by as I recall in his story before the Lord again brought him to that point of conviction where he bent the knee and gave his life to Jesus and he remains to this day one of my very excellent friends and brothers in the Lord. So why was Saul converted? First of all because God chose him through Christ for the work of ministry. He was chosen because he didn't know any better and then scripture gives us a third reason why Paul was chosen and that is to showcase God's mercy. Listen again to Timothy as he goes on, Paul does in 1 Timothy chapter 1 the verses 15 and 16. "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of which I am the worst but for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me the worst of sinners Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." And notice again how the passage develops, he talks about being the chief of sinners in another translation. He says Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst and then he says I was shown mercy so that in me the worst of sinners and we talked earlier about why that was because he had come to see himself as a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man. But then he goes on to say again that emphasis on mercy, he says I was shown mercy so that in me the worst of sinners Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience. Paul throughout his whole life never lost track of the mercy of Jesus and Jesus says he who has been forgiven much loves much. He who has been forgiven little loves little and this is not to plead for sin but you and I in those places where we have sinned and where we have really messed up and discovered God's amazing mercy and forgiveness you never ever forget because why should he love the likes of you and me when we've done some of the things that we've done in the course of our lives? I mean isn't that what makes the gospel the gospel? There is a future, there is a hope, there is a way of breaking with the past. We don't have to live forever with the guilt and with the consequences of the stupid things that we've done. That's why I can't stop proclaiming the goodness of Jesus. So it makes the gospel the gospel and the only people that don't like that are people who like Saul of Tarsus before their conversion were so self-righteous that they don't really think they need Jesus. But I'll tell you, once you get your eyes open and you know that you're a blasphemer and you know that you are a persecutor and you know that you are driven by violence then to discover that Jesus loves you nevertheless, that's an amazing thing. But then he goes on and he gives two additional reasons why God showed his mercy to a man like himself. He said I was shown mercy so that in me the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. He says I became a showcase, God used my sinful background and he showed me mercy so that through me he could demonstrate, first of all, his unlimited patience. One of the questions throughout history that God's suffering people have had is God where are you? Why does it take so long? Remember Israel in the Old Testament, they're captive to Egypt. Remember how many years they were captive in Egypt? Four hundred years. Four hundred years of slavery, four hundred years of pain, four hundred years of persecution. Why did it take four hundred years? Because the sins of the Amorites in the promised land were not yet fulfilled. That is to say they had not yet progressed to such a point that judgment had to fall and that there wasn't still opportunity for repentance. So here you have a situation where for four hundred years God allows his own people to suffer because of his unlimited patience towards pagan nations who ultimately refuse to repent and ultimately come under judgment. Four hundred years. Now put that in perspective. Why does it sometimes take so long before God comes to vindicate or to redeem his people? Because he is patient and he doesn't wish for any to perish. Here's how Peter puts it in 2 Peter 3 verse 9, the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. So God has unlimited patience waiting for the full measure of sin to come to completion. Listen to these verses. You know them well. I trust from Revelation chapter 6, the verses 9, 10, and 11. This is the cry of the souls under the altar. They had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, sovereign Lord, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood." Then each of them was given a white robe and they were told to wait a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and the brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. Understand the implications of this. How many households did Saul of Tarsus break up? How many people did he put in prison? How many people died because he was breathing murderous violence while God was sitting around waiting for the right time for Saul to come to conversion? You understand what I'm trying to say? God's people suffered because of God's patience. That's how incredibly patient God is in not wanting anybody to perish. You and I, we're a lot like the disciples in the gospel story where the Samaritans won't receive the message of Jesus. Remember what they say, "Lord, shall we call down fire from heaven on them?" God is exceedingly patient and he'll allow his own people to suffer while he waits for the ungodly to either come to repentance or to fill up the measure of their sins. Now in the end, of course, God will make that all right because he will reward his own people for the suffering that they have experienced at the hands of the ungodly. But don't ever think for a moment that that isn't a very costly price to pay. But God is unlimited in his patience. Remember notice how quickly you and I write people off? God's not even close to that. That doesn't mean that his patience lasts forever. When the measure of sin is full according to scripture, then God steps into the situation. Judgment comes, it always comes swiftly then, and it comes irrevocably. But God is very slow to anger. So that's one reason. Also as God converted me, he showed me his mercy because he wants to demonstrate to everybody around how patient he is with blasphemers and scoffers and people who just really hate him. But then he says there's a second reason, and that is the fact that Christ wants to display not only his unlimited patience but also an example for those who would believe. Sometimes God picks very sinful people to convert to demonstrate not only his patience but his power so that he can make an example out of people. Why is it that many people have such a hard time believing that Jesus can transform them from the inside out? Why is it that so many, even in a church like this, we struggle with the pull of the flesh, the works of the devil, all the temptations that come our way. We can hear the gospel preached a thousand times over, but we have a hard time believing that it's really for me and that my life can really be changed. Why? Well, one area of course is always pride. God opposes the proud, gives grace to the humble. But another reason is because our sin runs so deep, and we can possibly imagine how I can be changed from the inside out. And so Paul says, "God showed me mercy because he wants to show everybody that nobody is outside of the reach of his grace and outside of the reach of his power." He says, "I was the worst of the worst of the worst, but Jesus came to me, showed himself to me, and he transformed my life from the outside in." I love the way that he puts it in 1 Timothy 1, verse 14, where the Bible says, "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." And the faith and the love are in contrast to his unbelief and to his violent behavior. By nature, he was one nasty dude, extremely self-righteous, but totally off the beaten track. But then he says, "I met up with Jesus, and Jesus came to live in me, and God in His generosity poured out on me amazing grace, along with faith and love." All of a sudden, the faith of Jesus and the love of Jesus come into Paul's life, and he is never, ever again the same. Two big lessons from this before we wind up this morning. Number one, nobody is ever outside of the pale of God's grace. Remember you and I, we have our own ideas? Well, maybe that person can be converted, but that one over there, he's such a bad dude, she's such a bad dude, look at his or her lifestyle, they'll never come to salvation. And it may be true, because not everybody gets converted. But God knows the heart, and He knows that under all souls' fire breathing, there was a mistaken conviction that was totally off track, but in his heart there was a flame that wanted what God had for him, and in the fullness of time, God meets him on the road to Damascus, and his life is forever changed. Don't think that you can just write off anybody because it doesn't look like they could ever come to faith. God might just want to surprise you with His power. At the same time, don't presume on the riches of His kindness, because you see, Saul was ultimately converted because he didn't know any better, and because God wanted to demonstrate the greatness of His power, and I have said it so repeatedly in this church, and Lord willing, I'll keep on saying it, God has amazing patience with those who cannot, but has no patience with those who will not. And if you have a person who has heard the message, who has heard the call of Jesus, and who has hardened his heart or her heart, and has moved away from that call, the further they move away from that call, the harder a time they have coming back. Do you know that? Because God will not strive indefinitely with that person. And so each of us have to know the moment of truth. We have to know the call that God places on our lives, and we need to live in fear and trembling because God will not call forever. And if He's knocking on the door of your heart, and He's saying, "I want you to fix this relationship, I want you to get rid of this sin, I want you to step out into this area of obedience," don't just sit around willy-nilly saying, "Well, I'll wait until the conviction goes away," because you don't know if God will come back. He may just let you go on your way and let you harden your heart until suddenly it's the day of judgment and you say, "Oh my goodness, I didn't know." None of us complete ignorance if we know the gospel and have heard the gospel message. Does that make sense? I want to leave you with one challenge, because I think there's a prophetic word here that the Lord wants to speak into our lives and into our community at the start of a new year. Many of us here for a long time in various ways have prayed for people to come to faith. And I believe one of the things the Lord wants to do for us this year is to increase our level of faith and our level of expectation that God can break through and reveal Himself to people's hearts. If He can break through to Saul of Tarsus by a revelation of Himself, then Jesus can do it for anybody, for anybody. And I believe we just need to pray that much more that Jesus will just show Himself. Because you see, you could have engaged Saul of Tarsus in all kinds of debates and all kinds of discussions. You could have had all kinds of theological arguments with him, wouldn't have made a bit of difference because he thought he knew what he knew. In fact, he could have talked you under the table, but none of that mattered when the light shone from heaven and Jesus revealed Himself. And at the end of the day, believe you me, it's the revelation of Christ that changes our lives. And that's not only true when we get converted the first time around, that's also true with ongoing sanctification. Paul says, "Pray for a revelation of who Jesus is and what Jesus has come to do." You cannot gaze into the brightness of Christ and remain the same because His light knocks you off your socks and puts you on the road to serving Him. Amen? [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:40:45.100; remove through 00:43:27.000] [ [CUT]music] I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. I can't dare to believe that I should gain an interest in the Savior's plan. [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:43:27.000; resume after this marked segment]