Jesus: Creator, Savior, Lord and King #75 Jesus and Paul’s Vision Acts 9:1-16

 

JCSLK #75 Jesus and Paul’s Vision
Acts 9:1-16

video link to sermon

Introduction:

The following is a true story it happened about several years ago now.  It took place on United airline due to the media reaction, the airline was forced to make a public announcement on the local news to clear up the matter. 

Here is the pilot’s story. I was flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles. By the time we took off, there had been a 45-minute delay and everybody on board was ticked. Unexpectedly, we stopped in Sacramento on the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be another 45-minute delay, and if we wanted to get off the aircraft, we would reboard in 30 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. I noticed him as I walked by and could tell he had flown before because his Seeing Eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire flight. I could also tell he had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached him and, calling him by name, said, "Keith, we're in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?" Keith replied, "No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs."

Now picture this: As I walk off the plane, all the people in the gate area came to a completely and very quiet standstill. They looked, they saw me, and they see me walk off the plane holding the lead of a German Shepherd seeing eye dog! I had even put on my dark aviator sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planesm they also were trying to change airlines!

You need vision to pilot a plane, its important. Its also important to have vision as a church member. In both case you can’t see where you’re going if you don’t have vision. Go with me to Acts 9 and let’s look at the vision of Paul on the Damascus Road, a vision that changed him and changed the world.

A Vision of Jesus.  Acts 9:1-5

1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.   And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Saul Sees Jesus.

Background: Saul was born Tarsus of Cilicia (22:3). This was a Gentile city outside the kingdom of Judeah. Probably in his teens or early adulthood. He went to Jerusalem and studied with the great Pharisee rabbi, Gamaliel. To be a Pharisee during this time, a young man had to memorized the Torah, the first five books of the Jewish scriptures, learn the law, and learn all the teachings about the law from all the great rabbis of the past. They fasted twice a week, wore phylacteries on their foreheads and on their hands. Because they believed that Deuteronomy 6:6-9 was literal, 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates 

Paul says that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. In other words he stood out in his zeal, his disciple and in his defense of the Pharisaic ideal of the Jewish life and faith. Galatians 1:14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

When Stephan was stoned it was Saul who stood by and Acts 7:58 - 8:1 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. ​1 And Saul was consenting unto his death.

The executioners laid their coats at his feet. This means not only that Saul agreed and was pleased with the stoning but as the Pharisee at whose feet their outer robes were laid, he was the official in charge of the stoning. 

Now Saul, this brilliant, driven young Jewish fanatic was on the road to Damacus to extradite Jewish Christians back to Jerusalem for imprisonment or the death penalty, like Stephen.  Paul’s role was the same then as the Islamic persecutors of today, Deny Jesus or die!

To be perfectly within the law of Rome and Judah, Saul secured from the high priest to bring any Jewish believers, people here in Acts they are called “people of that way.”  The way of Christ. He was to find them and literally drag them back to Jerusalem for trial.

Historians believe that at this time, there was a Jewish community in Damascus of around ten to eighteen thousand people. Saul is on his way and death, hell and the power of Satan are riding with him.

Then in a flash, everything changes. (pun or double intedre? Acts 9:3-5 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

It is noon day, the sun is overhead and bright in the sky, but this heavenly light is more powerfully bright than the sun. Of course it was brighter and more powerful for the one speaking to Paul had made the sun, the moon and the stars. He had made light itself and now that power, the brilliance, exploded from the heavens upon Saul.

Saul collapses under the power of that bright sudden light and as he cowers in the dirt of the Damacus road he hears the voice of the light and the voice rings with an accusation. Calling his name twice, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

Paul was knocked off his high horse into the dust, there in abject humility he saw the glory of the Son of God. That vision meant Saul would never be the same. He was on a different road now, a road that would change his name to Paul and his life’s purpose to serving the One who he had once tried to destroy.

Oswald Chambers and Paul’s vision of Jesus. “The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience, but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. Our Lord said to Paul, in effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end, no aim, and no purpose but Mine." Paul was not given a message or a doctrine to proclaim. He was brought into a vivid, personal, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ. There would be nothing there without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not to a cause. He was absolutely Jesus Christ's. He saw nothing else and he lived for nothing else.”

This is what Paul said later in 1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

And in Philippians 3:8-10  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

We Also Need A Vision

No, not just physical sight, Nor an ecstatic prophetic revelation or experience. What we need in our lives and in our church today is to see the light of heaven, to see and hear the voice of Jesus and when we see Him and when we hear Him, just like Saul, we can never be the same.

Now before you all rent a horse and use Google maps to plot the way to Damacus, it doesn’t work for us as it did for Saul. This isn’t first century Judeah, we aren’t a few years after the crucifixion and resurrection. And besides none of speak Aramaic like Jesus.

So how do we see and hear Jesus today? How can we walk our own Damacus Road? Here it is, here is your Damacus road, your Emmaus Road, your Jericho road. The old saying was that all road lead to Rome but for those wanting to see Jesus all roads lead to the Word.

We need to see Jesus, we need a vision of Christ. Without that vision there is no salvation. Unless I see Jesus on that cross dying for me I cannot be saved. Unless I hear Him call out “Father, forgive them!” I can’t find grace and forgiveness.

Even after salvation we still need to see Jesus. Without a daily vision of Christ there is no daily faithfulness to Christ. I must see Jesus, creator, savior, Lord and King, walking and talking with me each step of the way I travel or I will not be able to faithfully serve Him.

Without the light of a vision of Christ I will not be able to give, much less sacrifice myself. Unless I see Jesus, high and lifted up as Isaiah did, I will not be able to say, Here am I, Lord, send me.

Billy Sunday the Converted Baseball Player

One Sunday afternoon in Chicago, a group of ballplayers entered a saloon. After getting some beers and enjoying themselves in that dark den of booze, they walked out into the sunshine. There they saw a group of people playing instruments, singing gospel hymns, and testifying of Christ’s power to save from sin. Yes, it was a Salvation Army band.

Suddenly a vision came to the Billy Sunday, professional ball player. Memories of a log cabin in Iowa, an old church, and a godly mother raced through his mind. Tears came to his eyes. After a moment he turned to his teammates and said, “Boys, I’m through! I’m going to turn to Jesus Christ. We’ve come to the parting of the ways.” Some of his companions mocked him, but others were silent. Only one encouraged him. He turned from the group and entered the Pacific Garden Mission.

Billy Sunday loved to share his testimony of that day, “I called upon God’s mercy. I staggered out of my sins into the outstretched arms of the Savior. I became instantly a new creature in Him!

Billy Sunday thundered against evil from the Gay Nineties through the Great Depression. “I’m against sin,” he said. “I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist. I’ll butt it as long as I’ve got a head. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. When I’m old and fistless and footless and toothless, I’ll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition.”

Every person who has ever been saved or called into sacred service has seen and heard Jesus.  The vision came from the pages of scripture and entered into their heart. We may not have seen the light the same way as Saul, but we all must see the same light as Paul and that light is the light of heaven, Jesus Christ.

Saul saw a vision of Jesus but then he is given a another kind of vision from Jesus.

 A Vision from Jesus.  Acts 9:6-12

6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

Saul was Changed After He Saw Jesus.

Notice somethings here. Paul did not fully understand but submitted. Acts 9:6 trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

No others with him heard or understood the vision, yet he didn’t need affirmation from others, the chose to obey.  Acts 9:7 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Also Saul was altered, he was changed physically, emotionally and spiritually by the vision of Jesus. Acts 9:8-9 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

He no longer had vision of this world and would only see when and what Jesus would show him. 

And through the Lord via Ananias, Saul was given a new vision, a new perspective, a new purpose for life. Acts 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

We Should Be Changed

Calvary Baptist church don’t we have a vision of Jesus? Shouldn’t we see Jesus when we come to church?  Don’t we hear his voice in the hymns and in especially in the sermons?  Don’t we see His work in the changed lives around that fill the pews? 

We need to see Jesus reaching out to your neighbor who’s lost and needs salvation.  We need to see Jesus touching and repairing broken hearts  We need to see Jesus putting his arms around a dirty faced and dirty mouth child. We need to see Jesus sitting and teaching from God’s word in a home that is filled with pain and suffering? 

If we are not see these Jesus in the things and people around us, it’s probably because our vison of Jesus hasn’t given changed us, hasn’t given us a new divine perspective and an eternal purpose. We need to see the vision of Christ in us, changing us and directing us where He wants us to go and do in this sinful, sorrowful, scornful world.

1 Corinthians 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Ephesians 1: 22-23 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

We need a vision of Christ in our lives and in our church. We need to see Him in every pew, every changed life, every saved soul of this church.

When we really have a vision of “Christ in us the hope of glory” then like Paul, it will not matter if we understand al the how’s or the whys, we will dedicate ourselves to service. We will not need company along the way we walk or popularity along the path we tread and least of all the understanding of others standing on the sidelines.

We will obey because we seen Jesus and that experience has changed us. The reality of that vision will change us like it changed Saul. We, the church, will be that vessel chosen to take the Gospel around the world. We will become blind to this world and instead see what Jesus opens our eyes to see.

“Open our eyes Lord that we may truly see You and be changed your vision of us.”

 William Carey’s Vision of Christ

William Carey, an uneducated cobbler saw a vision of Jesus directing him to the darkest regions of the world.  When he shared his vision at a meeting of ministers, he was told by one of the senior men of God: “Young man, sit down. When God wants to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine.”  But William Carey did not let the fire of his enthusiasms be dampened by such a response, and eventually he left the shores of England for those of India, Burma and Pakistan where he translated the Bible into 47 different languages which had never seen the word of God, he built a Christian University, and started dozens of mission works among the most spiritual blind people in the world.  Ultimately, he was received by the King of England as one of her greatest heroes.  All because he was true to the vision of Christ.

Look at one more aspect of Saul’s vision that day.

A Vision Till Jesus.  Acts 9:16

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

Paul’s Vision Gives Endurance

Jesus had even more of the vision to show Saul. Not a vision of a great light, but instead a vision of great suffering. As Saul the Pharisee had persecuted those who followed the way of Christ, now Paul the Christian would endure as he suffered as he walked in the way of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians Saul now called Paul details some of that suffering, 2 Corinthians 11: 23-30    Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?   If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

Paul endured because of the vision given him by Jesus. Yes, he would suffer greatly but through that suffering Paul later came at the end of his life to another vision. A vision he told to his son in the faith, Timothy. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Paul though his suffering was shaped and molded until he fully envisioned what Jesus had called him to do and to be. And through that endurance and suffering he saw a vision of a crown of righteousness that one day soon would be handed him by the Lord Jesus.

The Enduring Vision

If you’re saved then you’ve seen the vision of Jesus dying for you. But we need to see another vision, the vision that Jesus has of us dying for Him. Dying to this world and if called for dying at the hands of this world. We must also understand that in this world suffering is part of that vision.

We must be willing to we let God beat, and batter, shake and shatter, melt and mold, shape and shift us until we become the vision He sees in us. That is almost always done through suffering.

What did Jesus say? Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

As I was working on this sermon, I realized something about several of these famous roads in the Bible. The road to Damacus, to Emmaus and to Jericho all share one thing biblically speaking. They all share blindness of those who walked them in the narrative.

Paul was blind to Christ spiritually and then was struck blind physically, the disciples going to Emmaus were blind mentally and scripturally to Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Bartimaeus and his friend were physically blind until they received sight from Jesus. I also think that the road from Damacus, Emmaus and Jericho also share something after seeing Jesus, they share suffering for Jesus. After Damascus Paul suffered, the disciples after the resurrection suffered so much they were driven from Jerusalem. We lose track of Bartimaeus and the others but if they rejoiced when they saw Jesus and were saved then they also suffered when the persecution started after Pentecost.

Our own Damacus road of life also begins in blindness, we haven’t seen Jesus, we haven’t yet seen the savior, we haven’t experienced His wonderful grace. Then somewhere, someday as we walk that road we hear the Gospel and we see Jesus. Like Paul we fall down before our Jesus and call out, “What will you have me to do, Lord?” And that is wonderful but now as one who has seen the light of the Lord, we also share the road Paul walked after Damacus and that if we serve the Lord, is a road of suffering. In fact without suffering, we really don’t make any progress along the way at all. There is no path of serving the Lord that is traveled without signposts of suffering along the way.

Conclusion: Be Thou My Vision

Perhaps the oldest hymn still being sung today dates back to 700 AD.  It is an old Irish Hymn translated in 1905 into English.  It is appropriate that it concerns a vision of Jesus Christ. Let’s close our service today with “Be Thou My Vision” #374 in the Majesty Hymnbook.

 Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

 High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.