The Power of a Surrendered Will
Acts 9:1-20
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
DATE: 9 Mar, 2008 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I.
Introduction (Matthew
7:21)
A.
The human will – one of the
most powerful forces in the universe
1.
By a person’s will-power, men
have climbed the highest mountains, and walked on the Moon
2.
The will power have forged
great nations, and fought great wars
3.
That same will has been the
obstacle that has stopped God from being able to fellowship with mankind from
the Garden of Eden
4.
Satan came along and convinced
mankind that God does not deserve our obedience, and our yieldedness - but
instead, we need to do what WE want to do, and we need to worry only about what
is important to us
5.
Well, because of stubbornness,
mankind has been filling up hell in record numbers since creation
B.
You see, it is not the prayers
we pray, or the religion that we follow, it is the authority that Jesus is given
over our lives that saves a soul
C.
We all know the power of a
stubborn will
D.
I want to show you the power
of a surrendered will this morning, and I want us all to ask the Lord Jesus,
with all sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have ME to do now that I am your child?
II.
Message
A.
Saul’s Religion
(Acts 1:1)
1.
It was the Jewish religion of
the Pharisees – a modified belief in the Old Testament that had forgotten the
value of the lamb and instead put all its emphasis on good works and rituals and
ceremonies and the priesthood
2.
Saul was the best of the best
a.
Super educated (Acts 22:3)
1)
Of
2)
Educated at the feet of
Gamalial - prominent teacher
3)
Able to fluently speak at
least 5 languages (Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Iconium, Latin, etc.).
b.
Super-dedicated - zealous,
enthusiastic, fanatical
1)
A Jew - already very
religious; very devout
2)
A Pharisee - not just a Jew,
but a leader of the Jewish religion - like a Bishop would be in the Catholic
Church
3)
Single-focused: all he talked
about (“breathing out threatenings”), thought about, worked for, was the
extermination of this “cult” and heresy (Acts 24:14)!
3.
Better than any 10 men you
will ever meet
4.
But he was lost – all of his
relationship with God was based on his own efforts
a.
Super ignorant of Jesus -
willful ignorance (1 Tim 1:12,13)
b.
Therefore, he was Super sinful
(1 Tim 1:15)
B.
Saul’s Vengeance
(Acts 9:1,2)
1.
He hated what had happened to
his beloved religion
2.
Tens of thousands had turned
from Judaism to Jesus Christ
3.
He was furious, and was
willing to go to the ends of the earth to STOP the spread of this new way, this
new faith, this new church
4.
So he obtained permission from
the high priest, from the very head of the Jewish Religion for permission to go
even outside the national boarders and find these “believers” and drag them back
to
5.
He had been doing this for
years, ever since he had heard Stephen preach in Acts 7:54-58
a.
Intense persecution against
the church (Act 8:1,3; 22:3,4; 26:9-11)
b.
But the believers just got
more excited (Acts 8:4)
6.
So, we come to chapter 9, and
we find Saul of Tarsus, a religious killer bent on the destruction and
eradication of faith in Jesus Christ
C.
Saul’s Conversion
(Acts 9:3-5)
1.
Jesus Confronts Saul
a.
Isn’t it wonderful how Jesus
challenges people
1)
Like the woman at the well
2)
Like Nicodemas
3)
Like the cripple man at the
pool of
4)
Like He did Pilate
5)
Like He did you, if you are
born again, it is because He knocked loud and clear on your heart and got your
attention!!!
b.
Blinding light
c.
One on one confrontation –
everyone else will only hear thunder (9:7)
d.
When the Lord finally corners
a man, it will be so that HE and that sinner can finally settle some things –
not to make you feel better, but to get you to “tremble and be astonished” AMEN!
To get you afraid of God!
e.
You see, the only person who
could stop and save Saul of Tarsus, was Jesus
f.
You had better believe that
Jesus can box anyone in – that’s why it is so important to pray for people to
get humbled, and broken, and lost before they leave this world for a Christ-less
eternity!
2.
Jesus Questions Saul
a.
Why are you persecuting ME?
b.
Every believer you ever
tortured and hurt, you were really trying to hurt Me!
c.
Isn’t that the case with so
much of our lives? When we get mad at people, many times, we really are angry at
God
d.
When you do things to the
least of Christ’s brethren, you do it unto Him (Mt 25:40)
e.
Here was a revelation from God
(Gal 1:11,12,16)
1)
That you are fighting God -
not another religion, with all your good works, and ignorant zealousness for God
2)
That you are lost
3)
That Jesus is who He claimed
to be - God in the flesh!
4)
Everyone you meet needs that
revelation!
3.
Jesus Conquers Saul
a.
Saul asks a question now, “Is
that you… Lord?”
b.
What a word, LORD. Missing in
so many of the modern translations
c.
That is the key to saving a
soul – making Jesus Lord of your life now, not later, not when you are old and
can’t have any more fun
d.
Jesus conquers Saul’s heart,
his sins, and his will
e.
Saul became a prisoner of
Jesus Christ – he had been the slave of sin, but was now the servant of the most
powerful being in the universe!
D.
Saul’s Commitment
(Acts 9:6)
1.
Saul here finally surrenders
to the God that he thought he had been serving all along
a.
All he had been doing was
serving himself and the other religious leaders
b.
They had their own
righteousness and their own religion
c.
They did not have Christ!
d.
He must have chuckled – how he
had missed Jesus, and if it weren’t for Jesus coming after him, and drawing him,
he never would have had a chance of figuring all this out on his own!
2.
Saul was committed to:
a.
To Christ’s Lordship – to His
place in Saul’s life – as the One in charge now
1)
Before it had been himself, or
his religion
2)
Now, and from now on, it was
Jesus who would determine what Saul would be
3)
What are you willing for God
to determine in your life?
a)
Your career – could it for
Him?
b)
Your money – could it be used
for supporting missionaries?
c)
Your life – could it be
sacrificed for souls here or in a far away land?
b.
To Care about the world now
instead of just trying to control it and make money off of it
1)
Religion basically means power
and money
2)
Jesus saw this world as it
really is – lost (Mt 9:36)
3)
See people as more than flesh
and bones – they are souls (Acts 2:41; 27:37), not customers and
clients and crowds
4)
Care about people being lied
to and deceived (Rom 10:1-3)
c.
To make a difference now for
God - How could he do any less?
1)
As he had poured all his
energies before into rituals and traditions and the praise of men
2)
He now would pour all his
energies into preaching, and church starting, and soul-winning, and the praise
of God
3)
This man, travelled over
30,000 miles by foot, boat and on horseback throughout the middle east and
4)
Hey! If you used to spend
hundreds of pounds and euros on drink and drugs before you got saved, then don’t
you owe it to Jesus to spend all that money on missions giving?
5)
Hey! If you used to spend
hours on end at the pub, or in front of filthy TV programs, shouldn’t you spend
that same amount of time out soul-winning?
6)
Hey! If you used to use your
mouth for evil, doesn’t Jesus deserve you using it for good now that he owns it?
E.
Saul’s Humiliation
(Acts 9:8-18)
1.
Blinded now, having to be led
about
2.
Just sitting waiting on God –
God hadn’t told him anything more than to just go to
3.
Then, in comes a man named
Ananias, a nobody, who doesn’t want to work with Saul
4.
So this big name Pharisee is
being taught some things by this nobody named Ananias – very humbling, AMEN!
5.
But they were family –
“brother Saul” (9:17)
F.
Saul’s Effect
(9:19-20)
1.
Started talking, preaching,
that Jesus was indeed the Son of God!
a.
I bet he didn’t have great
sermon outlines
b.
I bet he didn’t always make
perfect sense
c.
But I bet no one had heard
such passion before!
2.
Turned the world upside down
(Acts 17:6)
3.
Affected palaces and prisons
4.
Enabled believers to witness
to every nation (
5.
14 of the 27 books of the New
Testament were written by Saul who became known as the Apostle Paul
III.
Conclusion
A.
I wonder, could it all happen
again? I believe it could, and I believe it must
B.
First by making sure you have
had your own encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ
C.
Then by yielding to His
authority over your life – making Him your Lord, not just Saviour
1.
It’s time to ask the Lord
Jesus, with all sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have ME to do now that I am your
child?
D.
Then by patiently allowing God
to mould and make you like Jesus – through your trials and through Christian
training and discipleship
E.
Then by opening our mouths –
oh that we Christians started putting more effort into the souls of men than the
praise of men
1.
How many people know the Jesus
of the Bible? How many know that YOU know the Jesus of the Bible?
F.
You see, There is another
world – another dimension – eternity (Mk 10:30)
1.
This world is only temporary
(Matthew 24:35)
2.
This world is a mess (1John
5:19)
3.
This world has a wicked
spiritual ruler (John 14:30; 16:11; 12:31; 2Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2)
4.
It is so easy to love this
present world (2Tim 4:10) and ignore the importance of the world to come
5.
It’s Heaven, or Hell – no
purgatory, limbo, nirvana, blackness (Luke 16:23)
6.
This life is only temporary –
does not last forever (1Tim 6:7)
7.
Jesus is from another world
altogether – not another planet, but from a world none-the-less – just as real
as this world (John 8:23; 14:1-3; 18:36)
8.
Christ Jesus came into this
world to save sinners (1Tim 1:15)
9.
Fear God who has the power to
cast you into hell (Luke 12:5)