Saul Is My Chosen Instrument

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark walked through Acts 9:1-20, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, letting the story sit alongside what we already know about who Saul was and what he was carrying when the light knocked him down on the road to Damascus. Before getting to the road itself, Pastor Mark spent time building a picture of Saul. He was not simply a religious bully. He was a man with a world-class education from...

Read together

1. Luke 12:32 opening encouragement before song: do not be afraid little flock it gives your Father great happiness to give you the kingdom
2. Deuteronomy 3 (partial, likely 3:24) Moses says oh Lord God you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand for what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours
3. Ephesians 6:10 introduced before the offering song: finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might
4. Isaiah 53:7-8 Philip explained the suffering servant passage to the Ethiopian eunuch as the good news about Jesus
5. Galatians (specific verse not given) Paul says he was advancing in Judaism beyond many contemporaries and was extremely zealous for his ancestral traditions
6. Philippians (specific verse not given) Paul lists his pedigree: circumcised the eighth day, tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee, persecutor of the church, blameless under the law
7. Romans (specific verse not given) Paul says he would not have known coveting if the law had not said you shall not covet and that sin produced in him coveting of every kind
8. Acts 9:1-20 the main passage preached: Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus through his baptism and first preaching in Damascus
9. Matthew 25 (specific verse not given) whatsoever you have done to the least of these my brothers you have done it to me, applied to Jesus saying why are you persecuting me
10. Isaiah 55:8 (approximate) referenced when Jesus tells Ananias Saul is his chosen instrument: his ways are not our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts
11. Psalm 31:19 spoken as benediction: oh how abundant is your goodness God which you have stored up for those who fear you

Talk about it

1. The pastor described Paul as outwardly blameless but inwardly driven by coveting and ambition. Where in your own life do you find a gap between how you appear to others and what is actually going on inside you?
2. Paul was heading to Damascus full of confidence and zeal, convinced he was doing God a favor. Can you think of a time when you were absolutely certain you were right about something, and it turned out you were wrong? What did that feel like?
3. When Jesus appeared to Saul he said, 'Why are you persecuting me?' referring to what Saul was doing to the church. What does it mean to you personally that Jesus identifies that closely with his people?
4. Ananias had every human reason to refuse or at least stall, but the text says simply that he went. Where in your life is God asking you to take a step that feels risky or does not make sense to you?
5. The pastor pointed out that all of Paul's education and zeal meant nothing without the Holy Spirit. What things do you tend to rely on instead of the Spirit, and what would it look like to hold those things more loosely?