Welcome.....take time to praise the Lord.....
Our theme this year is, With God All Things Are Possible or With God Nothing Shall
Be Impossible.....elaborate...
Please turn with me in your bibles to Acts 9 verses 1 through 15. Let’s all stand and read together. Please tell someone, expect the impossible.
My to-pic for today is, When God Shows Up. When God shows up as it did in Saul’s
case, whose name was changed to Paul, three things happened;
Number One - There was conviction. In verse 5 of our text Saul asks the question, "Who
art thou, Lord?" Number Two - There was conversion. In verse 6 of our text Saul asks
another question, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Number Three - There was
consecration. In verse 15 of our text, the Lord said about saul, "Go thy way; for he is a
chosen vessel unto me".....
Saul was on a mission to destroy the people of God. Let’s look at verses 1 and 2 of our
text (read) Saul was on a mission of destruction in persecuting God’s people. The bible
says he was breathing out threatenings and slaughter...............he obtained legal documents
from the high priest to carry out his plans..........elaborate......
While Saul was on his way to carry out his destructive scheme, in the mids’t of his
planning and scheming, God showed up. Let’s look at verses 3 and 4 of our text (read)
I want somebody to know that God has a way of showing up uninvited. It is true that
God is everywhere. It is true that we can’t hide from God; but what would you do if God
suddenly showed up, and you knew without a doubt it was God? Some of us would be
shocked if God showed up. Some of us would be wondering what’s going on, if God
showed up.............elaborate....
As Christians, sometimes we might wonder if God has taken a vacation. Sometimes we
might wonder where is God when we need Him. Saul thought he was doing alright. He
thought he was pleasing God. He thought he was in the will of God, when suddenly God
showed up..........elaborate....
Sometimes we might feel God has abandoned us. Sometimes we might feel all our hope is
lost, when God suddenly shows up............
Let me pose a few questions to you today. What would you do if God suddenly showed
up at your house one day? What would you do if God suddenly showed up on your job?
What would you do if God suddenly showed up while you were on the telephone being
critical? What would you do if God suddenly showed up while you were watching the late
night movies on Saturday night, knowing you had to go to church the following morning?
Would you change anything, or would you just continue doing what you were doing?
Saul thought what he was doing was alright, but in the mids’t of his doing, God showed
up......elaborate.....
Whenever God shows up, we cannot be the same any more. Whenever God shows up he
changes things.............elaborate......... When God showed up in Saul’s life, conviction
reached him, and he asked the question, Who art thou, Lord? Tell me something, I want
to know. Can you hear the Lord saying, Saul, I am glad you asked that question, so let me
tell you who I am. I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Let’s all be very careful in
attempting to persecute a child of God. Because in persecuting a child of God, we would
be persecuting Jesus himself.......elaborate.. Saul was confronted with Jesus himself, and
he had to account for his actions. Saul, just in case you did not know, I am the Son of the
one whom you love so much; I am the Son of God. I am the one who came to save people
from their sins. I am the door...........I am the way, the Truth and the Life............I am the
light of the world.......... I am the Alpha and the Omega.......I am the first and the
Last.........Saul in order to get to God you have to go through me.............elaborate....
Saul now that you have been told who I am, what are you going to do? When conviction
reaches us, and we have been told who Jesus is, then it is time for a change to take place;
it is time for conversion. Saul saw himself condemned; he saw himself guilty before God;
he saw himself lost and undone; and so he submitted himself to the will of the Lord. In
verse 6 we read these words (read) Saul made himself available to be used by God, Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do?.......elaborate...
How do you see yourself before God right now? Saul thought he was doing fine, but
when faced with the truth of his life he asked the Lord what he wanted him to do. In St.
John 5 verse 24 we read, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life....." In Romans 10 verse 13 we read,
"For whosover (it does not matter who you are) shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved..." In Acts 16 verse 31 we read, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and
thou shalt be saved......."
I believe as Saul was journeying to Damascus to carry out his scheme, the farthest thing
from his mind was to change his way of living, but when God showed up a change took
place......elaborate....God has a way of doing things that we will never understand. We
will never be able to understand the grace and mercy of God. We will never be able to
understand how God saved you and saved me.................Maybe you were saved in a
church setting; maybe you were saved on a dance floor when God spoke to you; maybe
you were saved when you were doing something very questionable, but whatever
happened, God showed up at the right time. I wonder where you and I would be if God
did not show up at the right time. The Bible says in Romans 5 verse 8, "but God
commendeth his love or demonstrates his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us." I believe we all should be thankful because God showed up
at the right time.........saints of God isn’t God good............
The story is told of how Billy Sunday got saved. (read article attached...)
Then there is Ty Cobb (read attached article)
On calvary’s cross there hung a thief, who was paying the penalty for his sin, but right
beside him was Jesus, bearing the burden of man’s sin. This thief saw himself lost, and so
he turned to the giver of life and asked to be remem-bered, and his life was
changed......elaborate...Jesus is still changing lives.....
It is good to be convicted; it is good to be converted, but that is not all; it is good to be a
chosen vessel, consecrated for the use of the Master. I believe God is looking for chosen
vessels, vessels that are consecrated, and ready to be used for His purpose. In churches all
around the nation, we are having problems, because there are so many who are not chosen
vessels. So many who are just having a form of godliness; just going through the
motions; living on past experiences; but I want somebody to know today, when God
shows up for you, things will not be the same any more......oh glory to God. Life has not
been easy, but I serve a God who understands. Saints and friends I want to tell you about
my Jesus, he is the one who never sleeps or slumbers; he is one who watches over me day
and night, 24/7, and no hurt can come to me unless he says so; he is the bridge over
troubled waters; he is the rock in a dry and thirtsy land. I don’t have to be afraid, because I
have a God who says to me, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I
am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41: 10) Cheer up saints of God, there is
nothing to worry about, God is still in control................elaborate...If you are saved
today, if God has showed up in your life, then you know what I am talking about....
I want somebody to know right now, when God shows up things will not be the same any
more. Peter was in prison, but the saints were praying for him, while the saints were
praying, God showed up, and the chains fell off his hands, and he was set
free..........elaborate......Paul and Silas were in jail; but there in jail, God showed up,
suddenly there was a great earthquake, and their bands were loosed, and they were set
free. I believe God want to show up in somebody’s life today. I believe God wants to loose
some chains of those who are bound................elaborate...
When God shows up in your life somebody will know. The bible says "the men who
journeyed with Saul stood speechless, they heard the voice, but they saw no
one..." elaborate.. The saints were aware of the evil things Saul had done, but when God
showed up, the evil things were turned into good things, because Saul was now a chosen
vessel of the Lord...
I believe today is your day for God to show up for you. I believe today is
your day for a change to take place in your life. I believe today is your day
to start trusting God completely. Saul’s life was suddenly changed, he was
convicted, he was converted, he was consecrated, and that was a miracle.
The song-writer caught the vision and wrote these words. "It took a miracle
to put the stars in place, It took a miracle to hang the world in space;
But when He saved my soul, Cleansed and made me whole, It took a miracle of
love and grace!.." ..................elaborate...Do you want a miracle? then let Jesus come
into your heart...
