Radically Changed to Live for Jesus September 7, 2014 Acts 9:19b-31 Mario Russo

Radically Changed to Live for Jesus September 7, 2014 Acts 9:19b-31 Mario Russo Many of us have moments in our lives where suddenly, things radically change our lives. It can be health related, getting married, having kids, moving to another state because of your job. These are all events that produce radical life change. For the apostle Paul, his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road was a life event that produced radical change in his life. In his book The History of the Christian Church Philip Schaff writes: The conversion of Paul marks not only a turning-point in his personal history, but also an important turningpoint in the history of the apostolic church, and consequently in the history of mankind The transformation of the most dangerous persecutor into the most successful promoter of Christianity is nothing less than a miracle of divine grace. Paul had become an authentic Christian and he was radically changed. And that is our main point this morning: Authentic Christians Are Radically Changed to Live for Jesus. Luke wants us to see that as authentic Christians we have been radically changed by Jesus to live for Jesus. And there are three ways, from this text, that we can see how to live for Jesus. 1. Live for Jesus by Preaching Jesus 2. Live for Jesus by Forgiving and Caring for Each Other 3. Live for Jesus by Walking in the Fear of the Lord These are not the only three markers of authentic Christianity. I don t want us to come away thinking that unless our lives are defined by these three things, then we are not authentic Christians. Rather, what we see here in the life of Paul in Acts 9, are just 3 examples of what it means for authentic Christians to live radically changed lives. Now as we go through each of these points, it may be that God puts his finger on a different area in your life that he is calling you to change in, maybe even something not mentioned in our text. If that is the case, please be sensitive to that. What I want us to see this morning is that authentic Christians are radically changed to live for him. And we will look at the 3 examples that this morning s text provides. 1. Live for Jesus by Preaching Jesus V.20-22. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. According to verses 20, Paul IMMEDIATELY began preaching Jesus in the synagogues. Why is it so significant that Paul preached immediately? Paul gives us the answer in

2 Galatians 1. He says that when he became a Christian he did not consult with anyone, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to meet the Apostles, but he immediately started preaching. In other words, Paul did not wait for someone to given him permission to preach the gospel. It is easy to think that the preaching of the gospel is for the trained professionals. We can succumb to the notion that preaching the gospel is for pastors, or missionaries, or televangelists, or the seminary trained, but Paul didn t wait for the credentials to preach the gospel. Paul s encounter with Jesus affected him so dramatically, that it immediately took effect. He immediately preached the gospel. In verse 20, it says that Paul is preaching Jesus as the Son of God, and again in verses 28-29 it says, So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. Such a passion to preach Christ can only come from a passion to live for him. Listen to what Paul would later write to the Corinthians church in 2 Corinthians 4:6: For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You can almost hear the echoes of Paul s dramatic conversion in this verse. It is as if as he is writing this, Paul is remembering his own conversion; the first time he came faceto-face with Jesus. And what Paul is telling the Corinthians church is this: WE PREACH JESUS CHRIST, WHY? BECAUSE GOD HAS REVEALED JESUS CHRIST TO US. And who, having met and put their trust in Jesus Christ, could refrain from preaching him to everyone, everywhere, at all times? As again Paul wrote to the Corinthians, For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Paul gave no thought to how others viewed him, or to his own personal reputation. Paul was gripped by something far bigger than himself, and far bigger than those he was preaching to, Paul was gripped by the reality of who Jesus Christ is; Jesus is the Son of God. When we see and trust Christ for who he really is it radically changes our life. It radically changes us to live for Him. In verse 22, Luke tells us that Saul actually began making converts through his preaching. Luke says that Saul was proving that Jesus was the Christ. That is to say that Paul s arguments were convincing some of his hearers. We know this too from verse 25 where Luke tells us that Saul s disciples helped him to escape the city. Is it not comforting to know that when we preach the gospel we will see people come to faith? People will come to know Jesus through the preaching of the gospel. So we can go and boldly and confidently preach Jesus knowing that the gospel will bear fruit. It may not happen immediately. It may take time, but at some point the preaching of the gospel will bear fruit. The religious leaders of the day wanted to kill Paul because he was not only preaching Jesus, but he was successfully preaching Jesus. He was proving to people that Jesus really was the Son of God, and people were becoming Christians. The man who once passionately tried to destroy the church was now helping it to grow. The man who made every effort to kill Christians was now desperately trying to make new Christians. 2

3 When we preach the gospel, we will face opposition. People will oppose us preaching Jesus. But keep preaching Jesus; it will bear fruit. I can think a couple of examples of what that looks like right here in our church. Matt McCarnan shared with me a few weeks ago how he met with one of the sales reps on his team one morning for a scheduled coaching session. She happened to ask how his evening had been, and he mentioned that they had stayed up pretty late at Care Group, so the kids had more or less all melted down by the time they got home. She sympathized from her experience as a mom, and he mentioned that they definitely needed God s help that night. He didn t expect the mention of God or a church activity to take the conversation very far, but we got to talking about parenting, and I ended up getting to touch at least summarily on my convictions about marriage and parenting, and simply connect the gospel to each of them. What a great way to connect the gospel to every day life. What does that sound like specifically? I had a bad night with my kids melting down, but I didn t get angry with them because God is not angry with me. Sometimes I have meltdowns with God and yet God doesn t get angry with me. He is gracious and kind and loving toward me, so I am and can be gracious and kind and loving toward my kids. I have another friend who is a stay-at-home mom and the way she shares the gospel is with her neighbors. She will make some kind of baked good and bring them to her neighbor s house. When she gives them the cookies, or brownies, or muffins, she will tell them that the reason she is bringing them something is because she wants to show them that she loves them because Christ loved her. And now she wants to share that love with others. If you ever need anything, or if you are having a bad day, feel free to come over and just talk. What a great way for moms who live in a world of diapers and sub-par English skills to reach out to others in that same world and offer hope. As authentic Christians we have been radically changed by Jesus to live for Jesus, by proclaiming Jesus to others. 2. Live for Jesus by Forgiving and Caring for Each Other v.19b - For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. Back in Acts 9:1, Matt mentioned last week that Luke tells us that Paul was still breathing threats and murder against the Church. This is more than just Paul making threats. Luke is telling us that this is what Paul lived for. This is what was driving him; the death of Christians is what gave Saul his breath. Literally, he was living for the death of the church. But here in verse 19 it says that Paul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. It is easy to gloss over that and miss the severity and weight of it. Paul, the murderer, on a mission to Damascus to arrest and kill Christians, spent some days with them. This means two things: 1) Paul was so radically changed that he was fellowshipping with and being cared for by the people he was just trying to kill. 3

4 2) The disciples at Damascus believed Paul s conversion was real, forgave him for his treatment of their brothers and sisters, and accepted him into their church. The Christians that Paul was trying to kill are now caring for him and fellowshipping with him. The Christians that Paul was trying to kill understood the radical power of the gospel to convert even the worst of sinners. They understood the power of the gospel to forgive, and accept into the family of God. The church at Damascus knew why Paul was coming to their city, and yet they had such faith in and love for God, that they welcomed him into their fellowship. Then again in verses 23-25 we see that not only are they fellowshipping with the one who was trying to kill them, but they are saving his life: When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. The disciples at Damascus are saving the life of the one who was trying to take theirs. And then again down in verses 29b-30, in Jerusalem, the disciples there save Paul s life: And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Please! Let s not miss the incredible display of grace that this really is! The apostles in Jerusalem KNEW Paul by sight! They KNEW he was the one responsible for their dear friend Stephen s death. It would have been perfectly natural for them to feel the need for revenge. It would have been perfectly normal for them to want to just pull back and say Well you made your bed, Paul, now lie in it. You killed our brothers and sisters, and now you know what it feels like to be persecuted for Jesus sake. Been nice knowing you. See you on the other side. It is perfectly natural for us to feel a sense of justice when we see things happening to our brothers and sisters around the world. Whether it is the persecuted church in Asia or the Christians being decapitated in the Middle East, or the millions of babies aborted every year, it is a perfectly natural to desire to respond to the perpetrators with justice. But the radical thing about these verses is the radicalness of the gospel. The disciples have forgiven Paul and are caring for him as if he was Jesus himself. What we see in these verses is the practical outworking of 1 Peter 4:8-10, Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God s varied grace. The churches at Damascus and Jerusalem were covering Paul s multitude of sins. What is happening in this verse is nothing short of God s grace playing out in real life. Specifically, it is playing out in the form of forgiveness and care. Those who were once in danger of losing their life, were now caring for the one who tried to take it. In other words, Paul was experiencing in a real life way the practical implications of what he would later write in Romans 5:8: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The disciples at Damascus didn t have the book of Romans, but they did have Jesus. They loved Jesus. And they were living for Jesus. 4

5 And they understood that while they were enemies of God, Jesus died to make them friends of God. They were extending that same grace to the greatest enemy of God and of the church. When we extend the same grace to others we are acknowledging that we too were once enemies of God, who by grace, have been made friends of God. The churches at Damascus and Jerusalem were living for Jesus by forgiving Paul and caring for him. We live for Jesus by forgiving and caring for each other; even those who were once our enemies. When we gather each week in our CG, it can be hard. Sometimes there are people there that we don t like; that have hurt us. Or we have been hurt in our previous experiences with church. It can be hard to gather consistently on Sunday mornings because other people in the church have failed us, and let us down. It can be hard to serve others in different ways when we are still bitter at our wives or at our husbands. It is easier to gossip about someone than it is to forgive them. Are you bitter this morning? Are you angry with someone? Do you desire to see God s justice poured out instead of his mercy? If so, then do we understand the importance of forgiveness? The need of forgiveness? Do we understand the cost of forgiveness? Paul isn t getting off scott-free for the atrocities he committed against Christians. We don t get off scott-free for the sins we commit against others and against God. Someone has to pay for them. In God s universe there has to be justice for the crimes and the sins that every person commits. If you are bitter this morning there is good news. Or maybe you feel this morning like you can t be forgiven. Maybe you feel like you are as bad as Paul and that if people knew how bad you really are, if God knew how bad you really are, then there is no way that you could be forgiven. If you feel like you can t be forgiven this morning there is good news. There is forgiveness for all. How? Because on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. The justice that you feel, that you want, the justice that you need has been given to you through Christ! Every ounce of Justice that you and I deserve, and every ounce of Justice that the other person that we won t forgive deserves, has been poured out on Jesus. And Jesus said, as he died, IT IS FINISHED. The forgiveness of God radically changes us to live for Jesus by being forgiven, and thus, forgiving others. We can extend God s grace to each other by forgiving and caring for each other, because we have been forgiven. As authentic Christians we have been radically changed by Jesus to live for Jesus, by forgiving and caring for each other. 3. Live for Jesus by Walking in the Fear of the Lord v.31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. There are two things that stand out in this verse. The church was walking in the fear of the Lord, and walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 5

6 What does it mean to walk in the fear of the Lord? In Mark chapter 4, the disciples of Jesus are with Him in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. A great storm comes and the disciples begin to freak out. They are afraid that they are going to die. So they wake Jesus who is sleeping in the rear of the boat. Jesus wakes and rebukes the storm and everything goes quiet. Mark records the disciples response: they were filled with great fear and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? The disciples saw the power of Jesus, and they were filled, quite literally, with the fear of the Lord. Seeing the greatness and power of God instills the fear of God in us. We can see how the disciples feared the Lord in this passage of Acts. Look again at verses 23-25: When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. The disciples in Damascus saw the power of God in the radically changed life of Saul, and as a result they feared God more than man. They helped Saul to escape despite the potential consequences that could result from being accomplices to aiding and abetting a wanted man. Look at verse 26: And when he had come to Jerusalem, [Saul] attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. The disciples in Jerusalem were not walking in the fear of the Lord. They doubted that such a person as Saul had become a Christian. They knew the kind of power that Saul had, to arrest and kill Christians, and they feared him rather than God. The apostles were believing that Saul was more powerful than the God that they saw with their own eyes calm a storm. They Apostles needed to be convinced that God s grace had indeed extended to someone as bad as Saul. So Barnabas comes. Barnabas fears and trusts God more than man. Barnabas knows that God is more powerful than any human being. Barnabas has the wisdom to see the power of the gospel for salvation. And look at what happens in verses 27 28: But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. Barnabas had the wisdom and faith to see the power of the gospel produce radical change in Saul. He heard the testimonies of Paul preaching in Damascus and concluded that Paul was an authentic Christian. And I believe Luke wants us to see that this wisdom and faith to see the power of God at work in others came as a direct result of Barnabas walking in the fear of the Lord. Barnabas lived every day with the knowledge of how great and powerful God is. Proverbs 9:10 says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Barnabas believed in the powerful, radical changing nature of the gospel, and he saw it first hand at work in the life of Paul. And as a result he feared God. Where in our lives do we fear man more than God? What areas of our life have we surrendered to fear? Have we succumbed to the notion that man, or finances, or health, or the future, or terrorists, or whatever, is more powerful than God? Is ISIS more 6

7 powerful than God? Is sickness more powerful than God? It can feel like it sometimes. And that can lead to discouragement. You may be discouraged this morning. You may be discouraged about the state of affairs in the Middle East, or the state of affairs in your own life and family. You may be discouraged by the circumstances you currently find yourself in. Don t be. I invite you to see the power of God at work in you, so that God may be at work through you. Where has God been at work in you? Where is God working in your life? How can you let that work be seen by others so that it proclaims Jesus? Here is one example of that: There was a high level executive in a major corporation in NYC. One day one of his employees came to him and told him that she had made a major mistake and that mistake was going to cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. She didn t know what to do. The CEO found out about the mistake and called the executive and the worker into his office and asked for an explanation. The executive told the CEO it was all his fault and that he was fully responsible for the mistake. He said that the mistake happened on his watch, so he was ultimately responsible for it, and so he would take full responsibility for it. After the meeting the girl went to her boss and asked why he did that. The executive tried to play it off and say, Well I have more seniority than you. They would ve fired you but they won t fire me. She wouldn t buy it but kept pressing him, Why did you do it? Finally the executive confessed, Fine, you asked so I ll tell you. 2,000 years ago a man named Jesus came and took all of my blame for all of the mistakes that I made against God. My mistakes cost God his Son, and because he did that for me, I did that for you. So that you would know what it was like to experience grace. Barnabas saw the power and the grace of God radically change the life and behavior of Saul. The executive in NYC remembered the power and grace of God in his own life, and it radically changed his behavior. Walking in the fear of the Lord begins by remembering the power and greatness and love of God in our own life, and what He did to make us His children. As Matt preached a few weeks ago from Revelation 2, We need to remember the love of God. Remember how great God s love is, so that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. Remember the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ. Walking in the fear of the Lord expresses itself in remembering the great love of God, so that we might repent of our ungodly fears, and redo the works that we did at first. As authentic Christians we have been radically changed by Jesus to live for Jesus, by walking in the fear of the Lord. Are we living radically changed lives? God is calling us to remember that we have been changed by Jesus to live for Jesus. We can do this, and we ought to do this. Proclaiming Jesus, forgiving and caring for each other, and walking in the fear of the Lord are not the only markers of being an authentic Christian. So, where is God calling you to radically change? Has God put his finger on an area of your life where he wants you to be radically changed? I m not the Holy Spirit, I don t know specifically where you 7

8 need to change. So pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you need to change. And remember that there are at least 3 areas that we can all change in: 1. Proclaiming Jesus 2. Forgiving and Caring for each other 3. Walking in the fear of the Lord Because brothers and sisters, as authentic Christians we have been radically changed by Jesus to live for Jesus. Discussion Questions: What is the goal of this week s discussion? For people to see God at work in their own life, to be motivated by that to love Jesus and be radically changed. 1. Walking in the fear of the Lord begins by remembering the love and power of God in your own life. Matt preached a few weeks ago from Revelation 2 about remembering our first love, Jesus, and returning to the works that we did at first. Spend some time discussing as a group what are some things that God has done in your life to reveal his power and greatness? What are some ways that God has shown his love for you? Is there anything about how you became a Christian that displays the power, grace, love, etc. of God? Is there something/someway other than your testimony that God has shown his power, grace, love, etc. to you in your life? If so, share it. 2. Where in our lives do we fear man more than God? What areas of our life have we surrendered to fear? How can we pray with you about that? 3. Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive? Do you need to extend grace and care to them? Seek them out and extend grace to them through forgiveness. If you need prayer for the strength to do this, please ask your CG to pray for/with you. 4. One practical way to live for Jesus is to proclaim Jesus. Who are some people in your life (non-christians friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members, etc.) that you can share the story of Jesus with? Who are some people in your life that you can share your testimony with THIS WEEK of how you came to faith in Jesus? Tell them how Jesus changed your life. Talk about how you are going to do it, and when you are going to do it, then follow up with each other at your next CG meeting about how it went. 2014 Redeeming Grace Church. This transcribed message has been lightly edited and formatted for the Website. No attempt has been made, however, to alter the basic extemporaneous delivery style, or to produce a grammatically accurate, publication-ready manuscript conforming to an established style template. 8