{"id":4066,"date":"2024-02-04T10:50:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T15:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/?p=4066"},"modified":"2024-02-04T10:52:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T15:52:35","slug":"divine-intervention-sauls-conversion-february-4th-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/?p=4066","title":{"rendered":"DIVINE INTERVENTION: SAUL\u2019S CONVERSION, February 4TH, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CENTRAL THOUGHT Forgiveness and eternal life come through faith in Christ and are for ALL people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HYMM: \u201cTake my life and let it be\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEXT: ACTS 9:1-19 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTRODUCTION: God\u2019s main intention for man at creation was and is still to be like Him. Unfortunately, man failed God through yielding to satan\u2019s temptations. Paul (formerly Saul), like all men, was caught in satan\u2019s web of exploitation and human degradation. However, God, not willing that man should remain in that state, made provisions for the redemption of mankind to his original state of well-being through the grace of Jesus Christ. Saul of Tarsus received this grace of salvation while he was going to destroy the members of the church of Jesus Christ. \u201cAnd Saul was consenting unto Stephen\u2019s death\u2026; he made havoc of the Church, entering into every house and haling men and woman committed the, to prison\u201d (Acts 8:1,3). The conversion of Saul was unique in the sense that while he was severely persecuting the Church of Jesus Christ, he met with the head and owner of the Church. Saul was saved because he trusted on Jesus Christ. \u201cTrusting\u201d means putting your confidence in Christ to forgive your sins and make you right with God and empower you to live the way He teaches. God\u2019s solution to man\u2019s problems is available to all of us regardless of our background or past life (behavior). We are all saved by grace through faith and not of our works of righteousness which we have done (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved (Acts 16:31). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIBLE TRUTH <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 1.A) WHO WAS PAUL? Paul was originally called Saul from the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. He was a Pharisee, trained and brought up in Judaism under Gamaliel. A Hebrew of the tribe of Benjamin. Paul was zealous towards God ignorantly, but blameless in the Law of Moses. He was transformed by God from a persecutor of Christians to a preacher of Christ. He both served as a missionary and tent maker. He shaped the history of Christianity greatly by writing many epistles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 1.B) WHAT WAS PAUL ENGAGED IN BEOFRE HIS ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST? (Acts 8:1-3; 9: 1-3). Paul was a loyal Pharisee, knew the law and sincerely believed that the new Christian movement was dangerous to Judaism. Thus Paul hated the Christian faith and persecuted Christians without mercy. He consented to the murder of Stephen and made havoc of the Church, entering every house, and forcefully dragging men and women to be imprisoned. He was breathing out threatening\u2019s against the disciples of the Lord in Jerusalem, got permission to travel to Damascus to capture Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for death or imprisonment. He thought that he was doing God\u2019s will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 2.) HOW DID HIS CONVERSION HAPPEN? Acts 9:3-9 As Paul was severely persecuting the Church, God had other plans for him and stopped him in his hurried tracks on the road to Damascus. Paul personally met Jesus Christ, and his life was never the same again. With this divine encounter with God, Paul received the grace of salvation. Just imagine for a while, who would have had the boldness to preach to Paul one on one, as all disciples dispersed to various cities and towns to escape his persecution drive. It was hard for Paul to kick against the bricks but the love of Christ brought him for God\u2019s mercy seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 3.A) WHAT GOOD EXAMPLE DO WE FIND FROM PAUL\u2019S RESPONSE TO CHRIST AT CONVERSTION? Acts 9:5 At the center of Paul\u2019s wonderful experience was Jesus Christ. Paul acknowledged Jesus as Lord, surrendered his life to Him and resolved to obey Him. True conversion comes from a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and leads to a new life in relationship with Him. The examples of humility, total surrender, and a broken spirit can be learned from Paul\u2019s response to the Lord Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 3.B) WHAT LESSONS CAN YOU DERIVE FROM OUR LORD\u2019S REPLY IN ACTS 9:5-6 Saul (Paul) thought he was persecuting some heretics, but he was actually persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Any person or group of persons persecuting believers in Christ today are also guilty of persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:40) because Christians are the body of Christ on Earth. One main lesson from Jesus\u2019 answer to Paul\u2019s question is that our Master knows and understands what we may be going though in the hands of our persecutors. He will bring judgement on them, and upon His people deliverance and peace. All persecutors of the Christian faith are only hurting themselves in their actions because they are rebelling against God, except they repent and follow Jesus like Paul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 4.) COMMENT ON THE LORD\u2019S DEALINGS WITH ANANIAS AND THE LESSONS DERIVABLE FROM IT. Acts 9:6, 10-16; 22:12-16 God told Saul to go into the city of Damascus, and there he will be told what to do. To fulfill His promise to Saul, God prepared Ananias to be His mouthpiece to Saul. Furthermore, Paul saw a vision of Ananias coming to lay hands on him to receive his sight. God moved Ananias and also convinced Paul to be receptive. Our heavenly Father will never allow us to be in doubt in any matter than concerns Him and us. The lesson from this is that we should always be in a state of grace, prayerful, and in out with God attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. \u201cFor God is not the author of confusion\u2026\u201d (1 Cor. 14:33a). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 5A.) WHAT ROLE IS ANANIAS PLAY IN HELPING PAUL AS A NEW CONVERT? (Acts 9:17-19). Ananias\u2019 role in Paul\u2019s life started from the moment he obeyed God to \u201cconfirm\u201d what God told Saul about Ananias coming to lay hand on him to receive his sight. The moment Ananias met Paul, he declared \u201cthe Lord Jesus Christ who appeared unto you on the way has sent me that you may receive you sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost\u201d. This declaration strengthened Paul\u2019s faith in the Lord. Similarly, calling him \u201cBrother Saul\u201d, Ananias established a love relationship with him, thereby informing him by action that the Christian faith is built on the Love of God. Ananias later introduced him (persecutor) to the brethren at Damascus. Evidently, the Holy Spirit filled Paul when he received his sight as Ananias laid hands on him and was baptized. His life changed and subsequent accomplishments bear witness of the presence of the Holy Spirit and power in his life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 5B.) WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS AS OUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO NEW CONVERTS? The command to encourage others particularly new converts to Christ is found throughout the Bible. We are to help them grow in Christian faith especially by the way we live our lives before them. Paul, writing to the Thessalonians brethren in 1 Thes. 5:14-15 said \u201cNow we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, and be patient towards all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good both among yourselves and to all men.\u201d We are to build each other up, respect and honor one another, help the weak, resist revenge, and pray continually for one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTION 6.) WHAT DID PAUL ENGAGE IN IMMEDIATELY AFTER HE WAS CONVERTED? (Acts 9:11, 20-22). Immediately, Paul was converted and his ministry and calling started in earnest. He became prayerful, and following the meeting with Ananias, he got baptized. A certain number of days later, he preached in the Jewish synagogues affirming that Christ is the son of God. He confounded the Jews in Damascus proving that Jesus is the very Christ. He defended his faith in Christ Jesus. It is important to know what the Bible teaches and how to defend the faith, but our words should be backed up with changed lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAILY LIVING APPLICATION: Paul as Saul of Tarsus hated the Christian faith and persecuted them without mercy, yet the Lord saved him. This shows that forgiveness and eternal life is available to ALL. We must not give up on or write off any persons as a bad case concerning conversion to Christian faith. A persecutor of Christians today can become a prosecutor of the Christian faith tomorrow. The same Paul made this profound and powerful statement: \u201cFor me to live is Christ, and to die is gain\u201d (Phil. 1:21). Are you sold out to the Lord like Paul? That same grace is available if you are willing. God can use us with our past no matter what, that we may serve Him in the now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MEMORY VERSE: 2 COR. 5:17 \u201cTherefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mon: CHRIST REDEEMED MAN SO HE CAN FULFILL GOD\u2019S PURPOSE. (Col. 1:12-13) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tue: THE NECESSITY OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL IMMEDIATELY AFTER CONVERSION. (Acts 9:19-22) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wed: IMPORTANCE OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST AFTER CONVERSION. (Acts 8:14-21, 19:1-7) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thu: THOSE WHO FIGHT AGAINST CHRISTIANS ARE FIGHTING AGAINST GOD. (Acts 9:3-5, 5:39-42) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fri: PAUL\u2019S GREAT ESCAPE THAT SAVED HIM FOR GREAT FUTURE SERVICE TO GOD. (Acts 9:23-25; 23:12-16) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sat: SALVATION COMES THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. (Rom. 8:8-10) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CENTRAL THOUGHT Forgiveness and eternal life come through faith in Christ and are for ALL people. HYMM: \u201cTake my life and let it be\u2026\u201d TEXT: ACTS 9:1-19 INTRODUCTION: God\u2019s main intention for man at creation was and is still to be like Him. Unfortunately, man failed God through yielding to satan\u2019s temptations. Paul (formerly Saul), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/images-5.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4066"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4072,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions\/4072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}