This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Waterford Lakes, East Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar, driving directions, and more audio recordings. Well, we are continuing our series in the Book of Acts as you are quite aware of probably as well, too. And as we look at this next story here, I just don't want you to forget the context of what's going on in the last few weeks that we've looked at. The last few chapters as Luke has gone in as the writer of the Book of Acts. And he's come in and started giving us details about how the Spirit is moving in the lives of disciples and moving them out from Jerusalem. Remember the promise was that you'd be my witnesses, not just in Jerusalem but Judea, Samaria, into the ends of the earth. Well, Acts is following that very outline and Luke's showing you how it's happening. Remember we looked at Stephen? Stephen was crucified. Stephen was killed, was martyred, stoned to death, just a couple chapters earlier here. And from that, the persecution arose and the church was dispersed. We're told that all those who were followers of Christ pretty much accept the apostles, flee Jerusalem. And Philip is one of those that flees and he heads to Samaria. Remember when you were looking at the life of Philip? And now Luke goes in and he jumps back in just as we've seen the power and the testimony of the Holy Spirit and the life of Stephen and the life of Philip. Luke's like going, they don't just think the Holy Spirit was working back here in the lives of those who were the confirmed followers of Jesus Christ. He's like, guys, you got to listen to this story. You got to check out this guy named Saul. Oh yeah, you know him as the apostle Paul who wrote half of the New Testament. But you got to look at this guy before he became Paul, his name was changed when he was Saul. You got to look at the power of the Holy Spirit working in the greatest opposition, at least in Jerusalem probably, to Jesus himself and the ministry of Jesus, towards Christians. This guy named Saul who was out on a, you know, rampage, rampage to kill any Christians who could get his hands on. And now he's on his way to Tarsus with a special permission from the, from the chief priest to be able to extradite those that have been fleeing to bring him back to Stan Trial and probably some former persecution being jailed and maybe even killed like Stephen was. That's the guy that we're going to read about. That's the one we've heard about or we're talking about. And the amazing thing on this is that you see a life of before, what was like when Saul was, was, was, was persecuting, we get some glimpses of that. And then we had this amazing transformation in this passage of we see life after his faith in Jesus Christ becomes real for him. We see the before, we see the after. And that's why we've entitled the sermon here this morning where I have looking at, looking at the between the before and the after. What happens in this before and after? And when you think of before and after, you probably think of things like promises for, for diet plans. Well, what they're always quick to give you pictures of how you take this product or use their particular remedy and formula, which is different than all the other thousands have come out over the years that you will indeed see results quickly snowman or not. Other things you might have, you know, we had this just this past election year period, is that the politicians right give you all kinds of promises the day before the election, but after the results, the after seems to be a little bit different than what maybe some of the promises were at the time. Or think about, you know, a real famous thing right, you know, extreme home makeover, remodeling, okay, people love to show you here's what it was like before and here's what it can look like afterwards with that. And then even some of us a couple years ago had a chance to go to ring old Georgia and were blown away, no pun intended, how the tornado that came through there when you see it before after Google map shop, I think that's Google Earth, to see what was devastated before where there were houses, there are no houses, where there were trees, there's no trees, and see the devastation that happened before and after are all about the between. Before and after is all about the between, what happens between the before and after is what makes these things even of interest, what takes before and turns it into the after picture is what it's all about. Well, Luke here is giving us a between, he wants you to look at, he wants you to look at Saul before and he wants you to compare that was Saul after and the point is not to give attention to Saul the point. Luke and the Holy Spirit is using here to teach us this morning is what happened in between, who happened more specifically in between and it was Jesus Christ, he was a deal breaker, he was a game changer, he was a turning point in Saul's life as he is with every follower of Jesus Christ. So I want to look at several ways here this morning how Jesus did indeed interrupt and change the life of Saul and how he continues to change lives and if you are a follower of Jesus in reality and truth, he is changing your life as well. So we're going to be looking at using this chart, I think it's printed there in your bulletin where you can follow along with that. We're going to talk about four different areas here this morning, comparisons, contrast before Saul, the after Saul and Jesus, the encounter with Jesus that makes all the difference. First off, Saul before, Saul chose to go to Damascus, it tells us that in verse 1 through 3, it tells us even why he was going to track down these Christians that were fleeing, he was going with authority from the chief priest to come and track down and bring them back to Jerusalem. He was going on a vengeance mission, in fact the text says he was breathing murderous threats, the actual word there in the Greek 2 describes one who had torturous ideas. He wasn't just going to make sure that justice was served, he was going wanting to torture Christians or be a part of it in a way that he could, it was a watershed moment when he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. Well, there's been lots of watershed moments having their throughout history. Some of you may have read about it, all of us should have read about it, remember, to some degree the smallpox vaccine. During the 18th century the smallpox killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans per year and was responsible for an estimated 300 to 500 million deaths during the 20th century. With the arrival of European settlers in the new world, the outbreak of smallpox wiped out an estimated of 80 to 90% of the Native American population. There wasn't for an Englishman named Edward Jenner who worked hard indiligently, who put some theories to the test, it may still be wreaking havoc today, but he developed the smallpox vaccine and it was able to eradicate. In fact, it's the only human infectious disease that we know has been completely eradicated best that we can tell. Smallpox vaccine changed everything in history. That pale is in comparison to how Jesus came in. He changes everything in the life of the Apostle Saul. Saul meets the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ on the road and it changes everything in his life. When we look at the after side of that in that chart, Jesus commanded Saul to go to Damascus. He might look at that and go, it's not much different. He was, both times, he was going to Damascus. Saul was either going to Damascus on his agenda, but after the encounter with Jesus Christ, he's still going to Damascus, but don't kid yourself. It's a game changer. He's going to Damascus because Jesus tells him to look at verses 4 through 6. He tells us that he fell to the ground and you heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord Saul? I asked, I am Jesus whom you were persecuting. He replied, now get up and go into the city and you'll be told what you must do. Very different reason now, very different motive now, very different agenda now, why Saul is going to Damascus because you might think if you after you encounter the living Jesus who says to him, why you're persecuting, you might think his reaction will be all right, I need to stop my plan. I'm going to Damascus, I need to quit this, I need to go back to where I was, repent, follow Jesus in Jerusalem, but no, Jesus says, you are indeed going to Damascus, but your agenda has now changed because I've told you it has. Saul doesn't argue, Saul doesn't debate it even though he was quite the debater, he was quite knowledgeable and could have, why? Because Saul didn't encounter just a man, he encountered the resurrected Jesus and his power and his glory. Saul was calling the shots, now Jesus is calling the shots and don't kid yourself, Saul knows it. James 4 tells us, now listen, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to this city or spend a year here or carry on business and make money, why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow, what is your life? You are a miss that appears for a little while and then vanishes, instead you ought to say, at the Lord wills, we will live or do this or that. What's James writing? What's his point saying? The spirit through him? He's saying, look, God is in control of your life. He's in control of your life before you're a follower, but as you are a follower of Jesus Christ, he's calling the shots. The Lord wills, you will do this or that. What's the point? When you follow Jesus, the earthly pathways and destinations may not change but Jesus always changes the agenda and the motives and encounter with Jesus Christ changes everything. So here's the question this morning, to make it relevant for us, has it changed your agenda? Now if you're not a follower of Jesus Christ and they're honest enough to say that or admit that and maybe you're like bold to say that, which is, I'm glad you're here if you're with us. And there's no expectation that it should have changed you, but if you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ by definition, your life has a different agenda. Jesus doesn't come to come in and tweak your agenda to sweeten it, to help you accomplish your agenda. Uh-uh. He doesn't. He never has. He never will. He comes to radically change your agenda. Why? Because to not do that would be to deny who he is. He is king of kings and Lord of lords. You know, as the famous bumper sticker, Jesus is my co-pilot. Never would Jesus be a co-pilot. He would have to deny himself to be a co-pilot. And by the way, he doesn't invite you to be a co-pilot. I'm sorry to say, right? And you're not in first class seating. You ride coach with Jesus. He calls the shots, but he carries you with promises. He gives life. He breathes hope. Your promise is a new heavens, a new earth. My question is, Jesus Christ changing your financial agenda and your life. You know, it meses me that in our country that we live in here, that if the finance at the economy is doing well, we feel like our country is doing well. Even though kids are getting shot in schools, even though the divorce rate is as high as it is, even though drugs and addictions are more rampant than ever. Is Jesus Christ changing your marriage agenda? Marriage by definition is hard, but is he coming and is he changed your agenda? Are you living following him? Is he changing your singleness agenda? Maybe you're not married. I mean, if you here aren't. Has he changed your singleness agenda? Those who are parents? Has he changed your parenting agenda? Has he changed your career agenda? Has he changed your friendship agenda? Has he changed your calendar agenda? If he hasn't or if he's not in any way shape or form, you need to ask yourself an honest question. I need to challenge you. Are you following Jesus Christ? Because it'd be better to know that you aren't so that you can rather than to think that you are to find out later that you're not. Saul had no desire to have his agenda changed, but he encountered the living Jesus and it changed everything. Jesus still changes everything for those that encounter him. We need a fresh encounter this presence this morning. Look at number two on there. Saul, before, passionately denied Jesus Christ was Lord. Nobody has been debate. He was passionate about it. He left his family, his responsibilities in Jerusalem to go out on a mission, to go out on a pilgrimage. What he thought was in the name of God, to come and passionately bring those to justice. Saul was approving of Stephen's stoning as we know he was there, draping their cloaks at his feet. He's on a mission to go to Damascus. He's taken authority with him. He hasn't just gone and seen what's going to happen. He is prepared to do what it takes with the authority. And then things were going so well for Saul until he encounters the living resurrected Jesus as a watershed moment. Here's another watershed moment that many certainly read about. You've been in school nearly at the time. The printing press, 1436, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. It revolutionized the product production of books, fostering rapid development in the sciences, arts and religion, through the transmission of text. It played a key role in the Protestant Reformation, be a distribution of pamphlets. Yet, there was effectively, it was inexpensive. It helped fuel the scientific revolution. With the ushering of the printing revolution, the Gutenberg printing press laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses. You can't really put in terms how significant the printing press was for what has happened in the centuries to follow. If you think about how it's been used and how it's been worked from that. It was a watershed moment in history, but let me tell you, it payles in comparison to the watershed moment that Saul has that you can have in encountering the living Jesus Christ. In encounter with Jesus Christ changes everything. Number two, in the afterward, Saul was passionately denying Jesus. Now he passionately believes Jesus is Lord. Just the opposite. It wasn't a 90-degree, 45-degree turn. It was a 180-degree turn, right? Completely the opposite, different direction. Just as passionate, by the way. As he was in the first time, he's boisterous and persistent in opposing Jesus. And now he's just as boisterous and persistent and he's preaching him. In fact, his life is threatened into Damascus, and unless they told him to, hey, you get out of here, Saul, you maybe would have been killed. He's going for broke. Why? Because he encountered the living, resurrected Jesus. They had to let him out in the window, right, in the basket at night, so he could slip away. And he goes back home to Jerusalem, right, to have comfort and safe, to be back with his family, back with his close colleagues and friends, resume his position of power. No, he goes back and he is preaching the reality of the resurrected Jesus, just the opposite, 180-degree's opposite of what he was doing. So bad that they wanted to kill him there. And fellow followers of Christ said, hey, Saul, you got to get out of here for a while. That's how passionately his reversal was because he encountered the resurrected, the living Jesus Christ. Jesus changes agendas, Jesus changes passions. Has he changed yours? Is he changing yours? Is your love for God growing stronger? Or just opposite? Is your love for others growing stronger? You know, one clear way to see it too is your love for enemies. And that's what sets Christians love supposedly apart from the worlds is that we don't just love people that love us. We love our enemies, like Jesus did. Well, how about you? How about those who have a different political position than you? Do you love them well in the name of Jesus? How about those who go to a different school or work for the competition? Do you love them? How about those that get the attention and the credit that you want? See, our enemies take on different shapes and forms. We need a fresh encounter with Jesus today. Saul did it because Jesus changes agendas, Jesus changes passions. Well, look at the third area. Saul was going to lay hands on Christians ironically and what just the opposite happens. A Christian needs to come and lay hands on him for him to be healed from his blindness and receive the Holy Spirit. See, Saul was motivated to pursue Christians. He had the authority to persecute Christians. He probably had dreamed of capturing... Can you imagine... I mean, Saul's a passionate guy. Can you imagine how he had dreamed or he even told people before he left Jerusalem? Just why do I get back? Do you think it's going well here now? I'm bringing a whole bunch back with me. I mean, Saul's passionate. He was at the apex of his career. Saul, who we know from other places, the scripture tells us he was a Pharisee. He was a leader in the church. Things were going well. Well, Saul was just about to put himself over the top. Secure a place for him in history and not just standing up against the Romans, but to come and stand up against the biggest groundswell threat to duty isn't that happened yet. This guy, Jesus, who claims to be the Messiah. God, Saul thought everything was coming together beautifully according to his plan, his agenda. That is until he encounters the living resurrected Jesus. You know, watershed moments. Yes, some are historical and some will be written in books. Some are a little bit smaller, maybe. I think of Charles Albert Polin, Jr. Some of you might recognize his face from recent pictures. He was killed a few weeks ago when he tried to shield children from a gunman who entered school bus in Alabama. Authorities say he was shot. He stood right in the way of the bullets so that at least 21 children could escape out the back of the bus. As we know, he was shot at least and one child was taken captive in that. That was a watershed moment for Charles Albert Polin his life. He had a decision to make on the spur of the moment. He had family. He had plans. He had dreams. Gosh, he's 66 years old. This may be thinking what retirement, what that would look like. Maybe he's driving a bus because he is retired. I don't know. I'm sure he had dreams. But somewhere deep down, he had made some choices too to stand for something that was more important to put his life in the harm's way of necessary. The watershed moment for him compels in comparison to the encounter the Saul has with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, an encounter that changed everything. Look in the third area, or the same third area here. Ananias comes and lays hands on Saul to see him receive the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine the irony here? He's going to capture killed dozens of Jesus following parasites. I mean, that's how Saul would have viewed it. These were parasites in Israel. But he must be humbly touched, cured, and ministered by one of the faithful courageous followers of Jesus. I got named Ananias. Who, by the way, is not real excited about going laying hands on this guy named Saul. I mean, can't you imagine he's thinking, is this a trap? I mean, this would be really good trap. You never tend like you need somebody to come. Yet Ananias is sent by God himself. So he goes. Ironically, Saul's agenda, his passions were changed, and therefore his role changed. The very thing that he went to go do to lay hands on Christians, is completely reversed. Jesus changes roles. You will remain a slave to sin, the scriptures say, or a slave to righteousness. Ultimately, Saul saved the sin, his own pride, his own arrogance, his undeniable of the claims of Jesus Christ is radically transformed, and his role has become one who now is a follower of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus changing your roles? Your love for sin, is it changing so much now, you begin to hate it? You're longing for this world. Is it being replaced with a longing for the world to come? Is your love for his word growing? Your desire to pray growing? Not so you can prove yourself worthy. Jesus is already made and already is worthy, but so you can come and draw near to the one who's given his life for you. Your love for others, believers, and for those who are lost as that growing has your role been radically transformed because Jesus comes and he transforms those in our lives. And we need a fresh encounter of Jesus today. We'll look at a fourth area. I've just picked four from this passage. You could pick many more. But Saul had come with authority of the high priest to persecute. And after encountering Jesus, Saul is sent with the authority of Jesus and will be persecuted. In fact, Jesus tells him that. Saul must know how much he must suffer from me. Saul has a respect for authority. We know that because he doesn't just go. He makes sure he gets authority before he goes, so he has all his ducks in a row. He was on the rise for the authority himself. We've already mentioned as a Pharisee. He made sure to get all the approval he needed. He had the authority to arrest, to treat any criminal like they deserve along the way. And he was planning on doing it no doubt. His plan was working perfectly until he met the ultimate source of all authority, until he met Jesus Christ. I had a watershed moment at one place in my life that probably most of you don't know about, and certainly you don't know Chris Johnson. And certainly not his family. Chris Johnson was my best friend growing up. And I remember there was a season in my life, late in high school, where I had, even though I was a committed follower of Jesus Christ, I was wandering off the path. I was choosing to let my following of Christ be melded with, a desire to enjoy the things of this world. I'm glad that I had a best friend that at one point in my life stopped me and said, it's God, what are you doing? I was like, what do you mean what I'm doing? And again, this is my best friend. We talk about everything you're going on. So we're always talking about things, things that are going on all along, but he stopped and took the time to say, man, you're headed down a wrong path right now, or you're planning on it. You need to stop. It's not what God would want. It's not what I've heard you say before that you want for your life. You know what? It was a watershed moment because I had to be in counter. I was in counter with my person who was my best friend that was stopping me and saying, look, I know about you more than anybody else does. And I know who you really want to be and I know how you're choosing and the choices and the things you're thinking about doing and being. And the two aren't lined up here. And I'm glad Chris Johnson had the boldness to come and stop and to have a conversation, a very direct conversation. And you must have thought, hey, you know, this might break our friendship. It's got to walk away from this. Well, Scott did it by the grace of God, and by God's hand working through a close friend. And we were roommates and college for the next four years and the best man am I wedding and so on. But what makes the best friend like that is somebody that takes boldness to do that. It was a watershed moment for me. I don't know how things might have gone or could have gone. They certainly would have gotten worse if it wasn't for somebody that God used to do that. It's a watershed moment, but it pales in comparison to this specific encounter that we can have with Jesus Christ. Worship moments are extremely important, but there's no greater one than what you choose to do with receiving or rejecting Jesus Christ. Period. After Saul is sent with the authority after he encounters Jesus Christ, he's sent with the authority of Jesus. In fact, Matthew 28, remember the great commission, Jesus says, all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me, not some, not just a little bit, but all authority. And then in John 15, Jesus said himself, remember the words I spoke to you, no servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. And if they bid my teaching, they will bid yours also. Jesus, the one who's been given all authority, made it very clear to his followers, that let me tell you if you're following me and you're under my authority, it's not, it's not if it's just simply when and how will you be persecuted. And by the way, they'll persecute you for the same things that they're persecuting me if you're followed Jesus Christ. So many times I'm concerned that we as Christians, we think we're persecuted, but really persecuted for things that are not where we're resembling Jesus Christ. And that's not the kind of persecution Jesus is talking about. He's talking about one that will come as you walk and you serve and you live and you are obedient to live in my name. When your life reflects one of me, you will be persecuted for being like me. That's what Saul experiences. That's what makes him have to flee Damascus. That's what makes him have to flee Jerusalem is because he is being persecuted because he's not being like Saul. He was well embraced while receiving. He was like Saul, but he's not being like Saul anymore. He's being like Jesus. And he's laying his life on the line. He's testifying to those that need the hope and the good news and those that have been just as blind as he was. He wants to see setting for being set free and encounter with Jesus Christ changes everything. Jesus brings you under his authority when you become a follower of Jesus Christ. So let me ask you this, as Saul encountered and experienced his authority that sent him, are you living and operating under the authority of Jesus Christ yourself? Do you rest under his authority? Romans 13 says all authority has been established by God, not some, all of it, even bad authority to fulfill his purposes to carry out his good pleasure. God's using all authority. Do you rest under his authority or do you bucket it? His authority comes in many different ways and different phases of our lives. It comes with parents resting under our parents' authority. It comes with your boss where you're employed. It comes under the president of the United States, if you're a resident of this country. It comes under teachers or coaches. It comes under government officials or police officers, whatever it might leave but do you rest under the authority that's around you? No one that God has established at all. No one that he sends you with his authority. When you have the opportunities to testify to Jesus, are you worried about coming on too strong and having to be a little bit soft about it? Not because you want to be tender and loving to somebody but because you're afraid that if I say it, if I really say it the way the Bible says it, they're going to really be offended and they just want to have anything to do with me. Oh yeah, in Jesus too. When we go out and we reclaim the truth of what the scriptures say, we're not doing it in our authority, we're doing it on the authority of God in His Word. When we go out and we live obediently to His life and do what He tells us to do, we're not doing it to make a name of ourselves, we're doing it because we're making His name great. We're doing this because we are loving and obeying Him. Let me tell you the world will think radically different when they see that you are simply following Jesus Christ versus you are simply living in a way that you think will make you look better to other people. Non-Christians, those who don't follow Jesus can sniff it out really quick, the difference. There's all kinds of hot topics and buttons and issues that you can talk about in situations and you can be really fearful to bring them up in discussions with people. But you know what, if you simply say, this is what God's Word says and I believe it because God said it and I want to share it with you because He said it. That sounds and feels very different than saying, hey, let me try to make you rationally think the way I think and try to live your life a little bit more like me because I'm a better person than you are. You wouldn't say that but they sense that from you and so on. It's very different. You pick the topic, the hot topic. God says to be holy because He's holy. God says His Word will not return void. Well, Saul went confidently in boldly because he had authority. You know what, and they persecuted Him, they were really persecuting Jesus. And how did He know that? Jesus is a told him, right? Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Gosh, what a picture of how Jesus identifies Himself with His church with His body. Side note here. Gentlemen in the room that are of dating age or dating, you better hear those words of Jesus when He says, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? When you think about dating a girl, young lady, who's made in the image of God, all the more so if she's a follower of Jesus, but even if she's not, she's made in His image. Don't think you can treat her any way you want to and not realize that she is created by God and if she's a follower of Jesus, she's one of his daughters adopted. I think that's not a big deal to treat her any way you want. Sorry, father, daughter, dance on my mind from last night. You pick it though. The example that fits here, there is peace under authority. There's also, guess what, courage under authority. Why does Saul have so much courage? Saul knew he was losing his reputation and everything else he had worked for. Why do you have so much courage? Because he was under authority. Courage came. You know what, there's joy under authority. I know that doesn't sound right, especially in American culture. Joy under authority, absolutely. Because you can rest. Because you know there's one who's in charge and one who's in control who has your best interest in mind always. Who says he's established all authority. Even that teacher you can't stand at school. Or that coach that doesn't work out or that boss or that neighbor. There's also hope under authority. We need a fresh encounter with Jesus today. Have you had one at all? Ever come, received him, come invite him to have full control of your life. Come here, his words. Saul saw why are you persecuting me? Why are you pushing me away? Come, allow me to radically make changes. Are you a follower of Jesus already this morning? You need a fresh encounter with his presence. And you don't have to stir it up and go through some emotional experience. All you have to do is read his word and believe. That's why Luke wanted his audience to hear it. He had no idea that we'd be listening to it 2,000 years later because I always feared it would preserve it. But let me tell you, God wanted you to hear the story. So for all those of you who are out thinking that God doesn't love me, you can't change me. I'm just too bad or made too many wrong decisions or I just don't have enough faith. He changed the guy like Saul completely. Exhibit A. He can change you. He's willing. Let's pray. God just asked that you would now as we respond this morning as we come to your word that you would come to your table rather you would come and meet with us. God that we would see this more than just coming to a table where there happens to be some bread and some juice but we would see that this is a table that gives us a picture and is a spiritual doorway. God for us to come and draw near to you and to embrace you and for our faith to be encouraged and for us to know what it cost not just so that we would know your love for us but because we would know it was indeed paid. When you said it is finished means that this paid in full. It is over. It is done. The transaction has been closed. And there's a stamp on us that says payment made. We belong to you. So God would you allow us and even this time as we prepare to come to the table to prepare our hearts to draw near to you. Would you come and meet with us. Would you come remind us God that you've set us free from sin and help us to walk in that newness of life. God would you come allow our sins to God to be brought to mind that we might confess them and forsake them and turn away from them and we can claim the forgiveness that is ours so that we no longer have to live according to guilt. We no longer have to live by shame or things from the past and God even from the things and the sins of our doubt and our worries about tomorrow the future. Would you set us free from that? You know that you are indeed the God who loves us and controls us against control of everything to bring everything according to your good purposes. So God we draw near to you now. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.