Sermon Central
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From Saul To Paul!!
Contributed by Wendell Blackburn on Feb 17, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: How God can change you just like the Apostle Paul.
From Saul to Paul
There was a family from a very remote area
That visited a very large city for the first time.
They checked into a 4 star Hotel, and they stood
Amazed at the beautiful and impressive site’s.
As they left the reception desk the mans wife
Stopped at the restroom. Then they stopped and
Starred at the elevator, and didn’t have any idea
What they were looking at!!!
About that time an elderly lady hobbled toward the elevator and went inside. The door closed.
About a couple minutes later, the door opened
And out came a stunningly good looking young
Woman.
Dad couldn’t stop staring,
Without turning his head he patted his son on the
Arm and said, Son go get your Mother!!
2nd Corinth 5:17 says;
therefore if any man be in Christ He is a new
creature ; Old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.
So you see when Jesus is invited to live in a
Persons heart, that person’s life becomes all new!!
This elevator trick will work just as good when
Christ returns!!!
Here Tonight is the story of a man who was
Majorly transformed into a brand new creation!
His name is was Saul and now Paul, his
story unfolds tonight, In the book of Acts!
Did you know that The Apostle Paul wrote over half of the new testament?
In our reading: Acts 9:1-22 will point out to us
How he lived out the elevator story!!
Lets All Stand for the reading of God’s word!
Before Paul met Christ He was a very different Man and tonight we’ll look at the difference Jesus Christ made in his life and can also make in your life, if you will just accept him as your personal Savior!
Tonight in VS. 1 of our reading you’ll see Saul was against Christ – He was making threats of Murder against the disciples of the Lord.
And in VS. 2 He went to the High Priest and asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he found any there who belonged either men or women
That he might take them as prisoners!
Our reading says breathing out murderous threats against followers of THE WAY – The way here
Being the way of Jesus Christ!!
Listen folks The Way to heaven is through Jesus Christ our Lord!
And he was breathing out threats in other passages of scriptures that further tell of His persecution to the believers of Christ!
Acts Chapter 7 tells us that when the religious people got mad at Stephen they dragged him out of the city and stoned him – and meanwhile witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul!!
Then in Acts Chapter 8 there is Saul giving approval to his death, and on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Now there were Godly men that buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to try to destroy the church.
He went from House to house and dragged off
Men and Women and put them in prison.
Then the rest of Acts chap 9 reminds us that meanwhile, Saul was still speaking murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.
Now listen folks Saul was probably much like
You and me.
He believed in God!!
The 22nd Chapter of Acts he described himself
At this time. I am a Jew.
He was born in Tarsus but brought up in this city!
He was trained in the law of our fathers under a man named Gamaliel !!
And He had a Zeal for God as much as any of you have today!!
But he persecuted followers of Christ’s way to their death, arrested them Men and Women and also punished them as well!!
Now Paul said there in Acts 9
He said He was a Jew and He was a believer in God!!
Paul said he was thoroughly trained in the law.
He was thoroughly trained under the most respected teacher in the land Gamaliel.
And further said he was zealous for God, He was very strongly passionate about God.
You See he wasn’t just a go to church every
Week and mind your own business kind of belief.
His was a passionately active kind of belief!
And he was passionately serious about his belief in God!!!
That’s what he meant by being zealous.
The main trouble is he was zealously wrong!
He knew the scriptures backwards and forwards.
He studied the scriptures daily and further applied
Them to his everyday life!
But the Jews in those days also knew the Scriptures well, but this man was way above average because he was college educated and was taught by the best professor in the world!!
