NO ONE IS TOO FAR GONE!

TODAY’S PASSAGE: 

Acts 9:1-9 (NLT) – 1 Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. 3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! 8 Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. 9 He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

• Saul, later known as Paul, was passionate about preserving and protecting Judaism, not out of hate or malice, but from a deep sense of duty to God and his people.
• Like most of the Jewish ruling class, he believed that Christianity was a dangerous cult threatening to destroy the purity of their religion.
• He truly believed he was doing the right thing by attempting to stop the spread of Christianity, but his passion blinded him to the truth of who Jesus really was.
• Even the most passionate and enthusiastic believer can be led astray if we are not careful to humbly study God’s Word and listen for His instruction.

• DEFINITION: Grace (charis): unearned or unmerited favor
• In other words, it’s not something that we deserve or earn by hard work or doing the right thing.
• But God graciously intervened in Paul’s life, offering him the opportunity to use his passion to preach the Gospel and save souls instead of imprisoning and hurting others.
• His experience of grace was something he never got tired of telling others about.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) – 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

• After experiencing God’s grace, Paul’s bold preaching and encouragement led millions to embrace faith in Jesus.
• His conversion story is still one of the most powerful examples of God’s desire to graciously save and show mercy to the world.

Proverbs 18:12 (TLV) – Before ruin a person’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

• Paul’s first encounter with Jesus humbled him in many ways. He was blinded, left helpless, and needed to be led by the hand by the men who were with him.
• Paul sat blind and helpless in Damascus for three days, praying that God would forgive his misguided passion and save him.
• God thoroughly humbled Paul to prepare him for a ministry that was fully dependent on Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:8 (EASY) – Yes, now that I know Christ Jesus as my Lord, that is the most valuable thing. Nothing else is important at all. I have thrown everything else away, so that I can serve Christ. All those other things are like dirt to me. I think about them like that, so that I can have Christ.

• Paul’s humble beginnings became the starting point of a world-changing ministry that we still honor today.