The King's Church in Ilford
The following is the text of the talk given on 5th July 2009 by Georges Kisombola
"I am Jesus! On your road to Damascus"
"I am Jesus! On your road to Damascus"
Reading: Acts 9: 1-21
Now as Saul was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
If you have a Bible that puts the words of Jesus in red, you will see that the Gospels are just full of the sayings of Jesus but here in Acts we also have the Lord appearing and speaking to Saul who has been persecuting Christians and in doing so, persecuting Christ Himself and to Ananias, the Jewish believer in Jesus who is told to receive Saul. Saul is confronted by the risen Lord in a flash of light and is blinded by Jesus' glory. And he is changed. He who had assented to the death of Stephen; who conspired with the high priests to arrest Christians and who even went on the orders of those authorities to bind the believers of Damascus and drag them back to Jerusalem was changed. He met the risen Lord and he believed. Saul the persecutor and denier became Paul the apostle to Jews and Gentiles, the chosen messenger of the Lord Jesus to bring his name before the nations, and kings, and sons of Israel.
We celebrate one of the great turning points of history. It has been said that without the conversion of Paul, Christianity would have remained a small Jewish sect. Many attribute the rise of Christianity to Paul and in our text; we see that his appointed task was to bring Christ to all nations and peoples. Our text is a narrative, it tells the story of Saul's conversion straightforwardly. Elsewhere, as from Galatians we have Paul's own interpretation of the events. He also speaks of his conversion in two places in Acts and refers to it throughout his epistles to let his readers know that he like the twelve was also chosen by Jesus, that he saw Jesus and heard Jesus and was commissioned to be an apostle by Jesus.
Among some Lutherans there is this sense that one should have a dramatic long-changing experience. In some of these Churches no one could become a member unless they had a born-again experience that they could name. Some of us here have had such experiences.
C.S. Lewis tells of his conversion that he was riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle on the way to the London Zoo with his brother. When he left home he was an unbeliever and somehow en route, he was, in his words, "Surprised by joy," and came to believe.
Hans Nielsen Hauge, the Norwegian reformer was plowing his field singing an old German hymn, "Jesus, I long for thy blessed communion," and his heart was so uplifted that he regretted that before this he hadn't served the loving and all-gracious God. This experience sent him preaching and teaching and ending up in prison for his faith.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was already an Anglican priest when he went to the Moravian society in Aldersgate. He heard someone reading from Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. He listened to a description of how God works in the human heart through faith in Christ and Wesley recalled,
"I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone for my salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
Our narrative of the conversion of Paul is of more than historical interest. First, it shows us that Jesus does not give up on anyone. Nothing we have ever been or done can exclude us from the call of the Lord to be a disciple. Think of the worst sort of criminal behavior - taking part in a murder: Saul was part of the death of Stephen. Think of the worst that one can do to Christians: attacking the faith, denying the message and hurting believers even to dragging them in chains to be imprisoned. Saul was doing this even going out of the country to Damascus to persecute Christians. This is the man who Jesus called.
Who are we to think that somehow we are unworthy of God's love. Henri Nouwen once wrote,
"We all have our secrets, thoughts, memories, feelings that we keep to ourselves. Very often we think, 'If people knew what I feel or think, they would not love me'. These carefully kept secrets can do us much harm. They can make us feel guilty or ashamed and may lead us to self-rejection, depression, and even suicidal thoughts and actions... One of the greatest dangers to our spiritual life is self-rejection. When we say, 'If people really knew me they wouldn't love me,' we choose the path toward darkness.
But we are precious in God's eyes and all we are his pure gift. To grow beyond self-rejection we must have the courage to listen to the voice calling us God's beloved sons and daughters."
If God can call Saul He calls you
If God can call Saul who hated Jesus and Christ's followers, we can be certain that we are not outside God's love. You are precious in God's sight. God forgives you in Jesus Christ, forgive yourself.
The second thing we learn from this text is the power of Jesus. Saul as a Pharisee of the Pharisees was religious before this conversion. He obeyed the law to its smallest detail. Even with his loveless behavior, he was approved by his religion. Saul was enraged and more deeply inflamed by the thrusts of an uneasy consience, a feeling from the devil who was very unhappy with the rise of Christianity; this because the Christian faith was and is the only way. Saul was approved by his religion. But Christianity is not the same as religion. We are called to fellowship with a person - the risen Lord Jesus. We enter a community that is in fellowship with Christ. We bear Jesus' name into the world.
Christian's role in the community -
Paul is visited by Ananias and through his prayer and laying on of hands, Paul is healed of his blindness, the "scales fell from his eyes." Paul is welcomed into a fellowship of believers who while at first reluctant because of his background, when hearing his testimony welcome him with open arms.
It is Jesus' power which changes Paul not something in himself. It is Jesus' power which changes the community to be able to welcome Paul. It is Jesus' power today which transforms our lives in ways subtle and profound.
You may be sitting here and think that most of us don't have a calling as Christians so extraordinary. You may be sitting here and think that there is not a Billy Graham sitting among us today.
I will say this: We all have the same calling. We have calling to preach of the Kingdom of Heaven, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse those who have leprosy, to drive out demons. I believe that among you are Ananias whom God has prepared to lay hands on the sick for miraculus healing and affirmation. There are Pauls among you called to take the Gospel to the world in more spectacular ways.
We all have the call to pray and support and encourage one another, to bear Jesus Name to our families, friends, and neighbours and to the world.
Following the Jesus' call will not be easy
The third point for us in this story is following Jesus will not be easy. Jesus said to Ananias, "I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." Paul suffered. He was imprisoned, shipwrecked, and finally killed in Rome. But suffering is more than just something a few must go through. Suffering is a mark of the church.
Someone once said, "A wolf will never attack a painted sheep." William Barclay notes that counterfeit Christianity is always safe. Real Christianity is always in peril. To suffer persecution is the greatest of compliments to be paid because it is proof that others think we really matter. A bold witness to the Lord Jesus will cost us. To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus means taking up a cross and following the One who was crucified. If we suffer with Jesus and if we die with Him we will most certainly live with Him forever.
In conclusion I invite you church to grow beyond self-rejection. Instead we must have the courage to listen to the voice calling us "God's beloved sons and daughters." You are precious in God's eyes and all we are is his pure gift.
Remember, God is calling you to serve him just as you are. Moses was called to go to Egypt with a very difficult task. Not to Fight, but to talk; and yet he was not a good speaker. You know the story. God wants to use you just as you are. Be encouraged in your faith. God loves you and wants you. God will change and transform you, and God calls you to tasks difficult but very rewarding.
