Acts 9

In verses 1-9 of this chapter, Saul, a persecutor of the early church, is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and throw them in jail.  As he is traveling with his array of supporters, he sees a bright light and hears these words: 

___________________________________________________________________

Saul responds with, _____________________________________

The voice replies:  __________________________

Saul had been resisting God's leading, but now he seems to get it.   He had some background having watched Stephen be stoned and seeing the look on his face.  It didn't take him long to recognize Jesus.

Immediately Jesus directs him to one of his faithful disciples who can teach him and give him direction.

Verses 10-19 show Ananias and his struggle to follow God's directions.  He has a vision and responds with, "Here I am, Lord."   Then when Jesus tells him to go and talk to Saul he kind of has a discussion with the Lord and explains why he doesn't think it is such a hot idea.  God in his mercy reasons it out with Ananias and he ends up going to meet with Saul.

Saul the Persecutor:

·        Struggles with his _______________________ - v. 5

·        Is ____________________ - v. 6

·        Received _______________________ - v. 6

·        Has some time for _______________________ - v. 8

·        Then he ________________________ - v. 20

·        He grew in ________________________ - v. 22

·        The persecutor becomes the _______________________ - v.  23

Anaias the Disciple:

·        Struggles with his _____________________ - v. 13

·        Is _____________________ to God's way of doing things - v. 17

·        Is _____________________ by God - v. 15

·        Has some _____________________ with his one time enemy - v. 17

·        _____________________- the truth to Saul - v. 17

It's interesting how God deals with all of us about the same way.  He has to work His way through our stubborn resistance, teach us what He wants us to do, and then connect us with people who can help us reach our fullest potential.

There are basically three steps outlined in this chapter that we all need on a continuous, daily basis.  It's called practical godliness by some.

1.      Conversion - v. 5,6  - Meet Jesus and stop resisting the Holy Spirits promptings.  Saul finally understood and accepted the truth.

2.      Counsel - v. 6, 10-19 - Counsel with other believers and heed their wisdom.  Saul stopped fighting the Christians and joined them.

3.      Calling - v. 6,15 - Accept our mission and carry it out for God.  Saul was given his mission from God through Anaias that he was to take the gospel to the Gentiles.  He began all most at once to carry out his task.

We are no different in our need today.  We need conversion, counsel, and a calling on a daily basis.  If we lose any one of the three we are headed for trouble.  What if we are trying to carry out a mission without being converted or without the counsel of other believers?  What if we are converted but neglect our calling?   They are each connected to our whole purpose for being Christians.  Without each one we can not possibly be what God intends, nor can we carry out His purpose for our life.

Where do you need converting today?

Whose counsel do you need to listen to today?

What is your calling for today?  How are you going to accomplish it?