Transformed by Grace.

Well, welcome once again. I'm Abbie, if we haven't met, and we are going to be continuing our series today in Acts chapter 9. So we have been walking through all summer the book of Acts, and we have been focusing now for these past few weeks just on Acts chapter 9, and this encounter that Saul had with Jesus on the road to Damascus, where all of a sudden the Lord came and Jesus met him on the road when he wasn't expecting it, when he was not looking for Jesus. He wasn't asking for this encounter with the Lord, and all of a sudden he had this encounter that radically changed his life.

And so we're going to continue to talk about this today, and we're going to be starting by reading in Acts chapter 9, verse 23. I'm going to be referencing both the NIV translation today as well as the CSB translation, and so I'm going to read it from the CSB for this first time through.

After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, him being Saul. But Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night, intending to kill him. But his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall. When he had arrived in Jerusalem, he had tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul has seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Acts 9:23-30

Let's pray. God we thank you so much for your word. God we thank you that we can come here and that we can set everything else aside and for these next few moments we can fix our gaze and attention on you. We recognize, Lord, that there is so much power in even just reading the scriptures as we just did, that the scripture is alive, that it is active, that you are speaking to us today. God, I just ask that for these next few moments, as we continue to look at this story, recognizing that you're speaking through it, would we be so open? Would we just welcome your Holy Spirit? I just invite all of you in your own way. Would you just invite God to speak to you in these next few moments? Would you just say, come Holy Spirit. I'm open, I'm willing. I want to hear from you, God. Would you meet me? Come Holy Spirit. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Transformation is a process

So today we are talking about this idea that transformation is something that just happened to Paul. Saul, we're going to talk about that at the end, as a spoiler, it's going to become Paul. Transformation is something that happens. It can happen all of a sudden, but transformation also takes time.

And so then what do we do with that? Well, the invitation that we're going to talk about is kind of, now what for today, is to start today pursuing that process of transformation. As we continue to read Acts today and next week, we're going to start to see that Saul no longer is the same person that he once was. As you read all throughout the New Testament, Saul wrote the majority of the New Testament, all the letters to the churches. So you're going to start to see in his writing and the way he's speaking that he once spoke negatively about the church and Christians, those following the way, as they would call it at that time. And now he himself is following the way and he's speaking, he's preaching and he's proclaiming Jesus as Messiah.

So much so that in the passage we just read, his life is completely unrecognizable now. So when he goes back and he's appearing to the disciples and he's coming in and they would have known who he was, they're like, we don't know who this is and we're afraid. Like, we don't know what's happening here. We don't recognize this person.

Last weekend, I was joined for not only the weekend, but also at church. One of my childhood best friends was in town. And we were laughing afterwards. I was like, yeah, I guess I didn't really tell anyone you were coming. So it was almost like a secret shopper at a church, you know, where nobody knows. She's here and we have been childhood friends since I was about 11 years old. And she's never actually been out here to Madison to spend an entire weekend here and to see the church.

One of the funny things is, for me, I've been a pastor now for eight years. And so this is kind of like part of who I am. This is part of what I do. It feels pretty normal to come in here on Sundays and to teach and to do all these things. And so not only did I have a childhood friend here last Sunday, but then I also had one of my coworkers that came to church last Sunday. And when I got back in on Tuesday and I see her and she's like, that was wild seeing you there.

And I was like, what do you mean it was wild seeing you there? She's like, you're just up there like talking in front of people. And I was like, yeah. And it was over. She's like, I feel like you have two different lives. I was like, well, I think it's the same life. Like I'd like to think I'm not two different people. But it was so interesting hearing her like see that where she's like, well, like I don't even really recognize you in that space. And then to hear my friends talk about that as well from even the moment we walked into my home.

There's certain things where she's talking and she's like, oh, I'm so proud of you. I just bought my house like a year ago. She's like, this is so beautiful. This is amazing. And then there's also certain things that she's like, classic Abbie, like that makes perfect sense right here. This all makes sense, but there are certain parts as we talk and we reminisce that you're like, wow, we are such different people now, almost unrecognizable.

Yet at the same time, it's because she's someone that knew me back at some of the hardest times of my life. I mean, middle school is kind of rough, you know? And we've gone through looking back. And as we're talking throughout the weekend, I'm like, she remembers when I was putting pink streaks in my hair and black thick eyeliner that nobody should have ever let me wear out of the house. She was there for when I all of a sudden decided I wanted baby dreads in my hair and to put feathers in it. My style changed time and time again and she was there for all the transitions, all the things. When I would change how I wanted to dress and what I wanted to look like, there was one story that we were talking about and I was like, when did that happen? And she goes, oh, I think that was when you weren't talking to me.

We were kind of laughing but also remembering that the season of life she was referring to was one of the darkest, hardest things that I've had to walk through. And during that season of my life, because of my immaturity and my youthfulness and just not walking the way that I'm now walking with the Lord, the way that I process things, the way that I walked through hard things in my life was to push people away, was to shut people out, was to not let anybody in and not actually let anyone in my life know what was really happening behind the scenes, for fear, for shame, for not wanting to be found out.

I share all that to say what was so fun about us like coming here and laughing together and being like, wow, like we never thought that we would be here now. We've walked through so much life together. I was her maid of honor. I was in the hospital hours after her daughter was born. I was also recognizing that it's more than just like my style that has changed through the years that's a little unrecognizable if you were to look back 10 years ago. But it's also the way that I now walk with Jesus, where now I'm at a point in my life where when I'm going through hard things, when I'm walking through moments that are hard and painful, I no longer push people out. But I have created and invested in those relationships where there's safe people that I go to, where I no longer feel this need to even hide things from the Lord, but to come freely and lay them at his feet.

I'm changed in so many different ways through the years because of Jesus and the way he continues to invite us in to walk more and more closely in his likeness. But this change was a process. There's many moments throughout that process that I could point to and tell you like it was this divine encounter, this time in prayer, this conversation. One of them being about six, seven years ago when I had another loving friend sit down with me and say, Abbie, like there's patterns in your life and there's things that are happening that I'm afraid that if you don't change, it's going to change you. And that led this journey of me saying, I want to be changed and I don't want to live in this same pain and the same patterns that I'm in in this moment.

And so this began this pursuit for me to continue to say, like, I don't want to just say, I believe in Jesus and I can't wait to get to heaven. But I want to live my life every day of saying, I can be transformed and changed by Jesus every single day. And he didn't just die on the cross and pay the price for our sins so that he could say, see in heaven, have fun trying to survive this journey on earth. But he left with us his Holy Spirit to continue to guide us, to continue to transform us, to continue to sanctify us, which means to make us holy, so that we can be with him, not just when we die and go enter into heaven, but right here in this moment, we can continue to be with Jesus and to grow into his likeness.

This change is a process. It takes time, but we can take every day to say, what is my invitation? We talked about this, and we're going to continue to talk about this, of Saul when he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, and when the bright light hit him. And his first response was, Lord, who are you, and what would you have me do.

Every single day, we can wake up with that posture of saying, I hope that five years from now, I don't look the same. This outfit here will probably be outdated and none of us will be dressing like this. But I also hope that I don't speak the same. I don't talk the same. I don't live the same. I don't love the same. That it would be continued journeys for each and every one of us to say we are becoming more and more kind, more and more loving, more and more at peace with Jesus and closer in his likeness.

Transformation is not absent of pain

So we're going to talk about transformation today. And the first thing I want to talk about, as we get into this, is that transformation is not absent of pain. When we talk about this journey of transformation, we start to see this pretty quickly in the life of Saul.

So we see that he was blind for three days, and then he has this interaction conversation with Ananias. Ananias was the first one to come alongside him and to call him brother, which is so powerful. And then his eyes are open, and he starts preaching, and he starts doing all these things. And it says in Acts 9:23, after many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him. But his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.

Now, scripture is so fun. There's always so many little things where it's like just when you think you can read it and go past, you're like, and what was that? And what is happening here? There's so many things happening. But I want us to note first here is that when it's saying there's a plot from the Jews to kill him. One of the first things that Saul is met with after his obedience and preaching the gospel and following Jesus is rejection. It's the people that he's like, hey, I have good news. Like he's excited. He's amped. He's like, why wouldn't you all want to be a part of this? And he's rejected. And not just people being like, I don't really like you. Like, I don't really want to follow you anymore. Like, I don't want to be around you. You're not invited over for dinner tonight. No, like I'm going to kill you. This is a big deal. They are plotting to kill him. That's the type of rejection that he's facing.

Can you imagine being in that situation? And it's hard for us in our kind of current cultural moment here to think about that, but around the world, that is still a reality where you're choosing to follow Jesus. You're choosing to preach the gospel. You're being obedient and you're met with more than just a, ah, you're not my favorite person to be around. You're met with a, I'm not only going to want to kill you, but I'm going to plot. Like I'm going to plan. I'm going to get other people around this. This is what Saul is being met with in this moment.

The Jews are trying to kill him. Scripture tells us and Saul will tell us over and over again. He references his story. He was born a Jew. In some ways these are his people. These are the ones that he's like, what do you mean. Like, I am one of you. Shouldn't we be on the same page here. And they are plotting to kill him. He's rejected in the synagogue, in the temple courts. He's seen as a traitor to Judaism.

The early church won't even accept him. Then he's appearing to the disciples and they're like, we're afraid of you. So he's walking. He's like, what is happening? Like, Lord, you met me and I surrendered. And I was like, okay, tell me what to do. I walked blindly for three days. Some guy named Ananias, like, called me brother. And I think I'm doing the right things here. And all of a sudden he is met with pain. The pain of rejection. The synagogue, the temple courts, the Jewish people, the early church. No family, no community to embrace him.

What would you do in those moments? And then here to get even better, it tells us that they lowered him down in a basket through an opening in the wall. Okay, I want to talk about this. So a lot of the cities at the time, they would have been surrounded by these walls, like the gates, the walls of the city. And a lot of this was like for protection because they wanted to make sure not everyone, not anyone was able to get into the city. So if you look back and I'm saying they're lowering him in a basket, you're like, okay, well, it couldn't have been like a Moses basket for a baby, right? Like there's no way Paul is going to fit in that. So a lot of commentators and theologians, they go back and they found a really profound thing that they're like, the only thing that would make sense is if it was some sort of waste basket or a trash can essentially.

So you think about this. If Saul is led into Damascus blind, not in the best condition, and now he's leaving, riding out, so victorious, hidden in a trash can, being lowered down through the window. The humility that is being placed right now in him. They lowered him out of the gates in a basket, in a trash can. Can you imagine being Saul in this moment? And would you be there and be like, thank you, Lord, for honoring my obedience. God, your presence is here in my midst. No, I'd be crying like a baby. I would be like Moses, like crying in the baby right there in that basket. Like, are you kidding me. Like, this is disgusting. How did we get here. God, I thought I was doing it right.

But all of this is this process of transformation. You see, like time and time again, then Saul is going to go on to write all those letters to the church, and he's going to tell us, like, die to yourself, die to your flesh, less of me, more of you. Do you start to see where some of this came from? Where he's experiencing firsthand of saying, okay, for me to keep preaching, the only way is for me to be hidden in this trash can and lowered from the city. He's not just throwing out these bold statements, but he has lived this over many moments for many years. That then later will transform him into the type of person where he can say less of me, more of you. Because he truly has that later we will see has come to that understanding of Jesus. It's all about your presence. Like throw me in any trash can. And unfortunately for Saul, we'll also see that this was not the first time that he was put in really hard situations. This was not the first time he tried to escape. And many times as the story goes on, we'll read that sometimes he didn't escape and instead he was thrown into prison. And so this may have been one of the more glorious moments of his life of following Jesus.

Transformation is not absence of pain. The Psalms are so powerful and such an incredible way for us to continue to be reminded that we are not the first people to follow Jesus. We're not the first people to experience hard things. And if you read in almost any of the Psalms, you're going to see a mix of that, this lament and this pain and this like agony of like, God, why me. But also, God, I know you're good and I know you're faithful, and kind of this back and forth.

And one of my favorite things about Psalm 23, and we read it at prayer and worship on Tuesday, is it talks about the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. And it goes on to talk about the line where it says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

Now what I love so much about that kind of concept is I think sometimes we really believe, like, and we try to convince ourselves, and I think the enemy even tries to convince us that, okay, if you said yes to following Jesus, everything's going to be perfect, flawless, like you're just going to run free for the rest of your life, and it's going to be awesome. Now, what we see here is this journey of saying, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. You see, the reality is like life is not ever promised to be easy on this side of eternity. It's not promised to be free of pain on this side of eternity. What is promised is that God's presence will continue to remain with us in our midst.

So as we walk through that valley we lack nothing. Why. Because he is with us. As we walk through those situations that seem impossible, we lack nothing. Why. Because he is with us. The same spirit of God that led Saul for three days blind on the road to Damascus is leading us, is guiding us, and is with us in the midst of our journey that may feel like there's no end in sight.

Transformation takes time, but it's not absent of pain. But it is so worth it as we start to walk through it.

Transformation involves a community of people

The next thing I want to talk about is how transformation involves a community of people. Now the disciples, they didn't recognize him. Big miss. Like, uh-oh, that's awkward. Can you imagine. You're like ready for this. You're like, are you kidding me. Like you guys too.

But here's who I want to talk about next is Barnabas. So we read here in the passage where it starts to talk about when Barnabas comes in verse 27. It says, Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

So there's a couple of things that's happening here. The first thing that I think is really cool is you see that Barnabas is advocating for Saul here in this moment. Barnabas is coming alongside him and he's like okay I'm now going to take you and I'm going to explain to this group of people who you are. I'm going to speak on your behalf when maybe they're in a place in a position where they're not going to trust you, they're not going to listen. Let me take this. I got you now.

I point this out because I think in life we all would love a Barnabas, right. But I just think the invitation sometimes is for us. It's like how do we become Barnabas to people. How do we wake up and say, God, is there anyone today that I need to advocate for. Is there anyone that I need to encourage. And would you show me, Holy Spirit, what that looks like.

Now, Barnabas we're told that earlier in Acts, we see him when he was the one, when the church is gathering and they're sharing all their possession. There's a verse specifically in Acts chapter 2 where it talks about that he sold a field when there was a need. And from that his name, it says that his name was Joseph but the apostles gave him the name Barnabas, which meant son of encouragement or son of encourager.

So here's what we do know about him. We know that he was wealthy because he had a field to sell and that one field was able to meet the needs of someone. But I also love because what that verse also shows me when it says that he sold a field was that he was someone that was listening to the spirit of God and the unique invitations. It didn't say Barnabas sold everything that he had to give to the poor, which is the thing that we see in scripture a lot. But he sold a field, which makes me think, okay, he must have been in community with people to the point that he was aware of the needs in the community. He must have been in community with people and community with God and the Spirit of God in a way that he was listening to say, okay, Holy Spirit, show me what's the invitation so that when there was one, he was ready to give.

He was ready to sell that field and give it to that person and to meet that need. So Barnabas, this isn't the first time that he's come through for a friend. This isn't the first time, but you can tell this is something that he's practiced. There have been many moments of him saying, God, I'm listening. Holy Spirit, show me. I'm in community. I'm with these people. I'm doing the things. I'm listening. What's my invitation. So that when these moments come, he was ready. He was ready to do this.

In a moment where Paul and his mess was too messy for the others around, Barnabas too, like Ananias, was ready to welcome him in. When we're looking around at the people around us, how can we too be ready to welcome them in. How today can we start to practice listening to the Holy Spirit, spending enough time with people that we get to know their needs so that we can meet them in specific and tangible ways.

Transformation was never meant to be done alone. I shared earlier in my story of how there have been several moments where people have walked alongside me in hard, dark seasons of my life. People that have sat across and said the things of the invitations they're sensing from the Holy Spirit. There's been many times that people have helped meet tangible needs in my life as a sign and a reminder of God's faithfulness, that we are not alone and that we are not meant to be walking in these independent relationships with Jesus, but rather interdependent on the spirit of God and the community that he's provided us with.

This is the gift that we get to experience is that we don't just get to scatter and then gather here on Sundays and this is the only time we see each other, but we should be in each other's lives. We should know each other's needs so that when the time comes, we can provide and we can meet them.

The name change: Saul to Paul

So transformation takes time. It's not absent of pain. It involves a community of people. And it is a process. So at this point in the story, it has been three years since he's come back to Jerusalem. And he left, then leaves for seven years. And later we're going to read that Barnabas is the one that will bring Saul back to Antioch. So that is 10 years of isolation, 10 years of preparing before Saul really starts like the ministry that we know. This was the process for Saul before he started his ministry.

And now one of the things that I love is that Saul goes on to continue throughout Acts and the New Testament and all the letters to the church to recount the story of transformation, to recount all the things that God brought him through. And so I want to read it now from a different lens in Acts chapter 22. So if you guys have your Bibles and you want to flip open to Acts 22. And this is going to be now later where he is telling people about what God did in his life. So in Acts chapter 22, starting in verse 6 going to verse 21. And it says this:

About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and I heard a voice say to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me. Who are you, Lord. I asked. I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. He replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. What shall I do. I asked. Get up, the Lord said, and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. My companions led me by the hand into Damascus because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that very moment, I was able to see him. And he said, the God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the righteous one and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for. Get up be baptized and wash your sins away calling on his name. When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. Quick. He said to me leave Jerusalem immediately because they will not accept your testimony about me. Lord, I replied, these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. Then the Lord said to me, go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.

Acts 22:6-21

So I love that not every story in scripture do we have like multiple different kind of tellings of it, but this one we do. And I think there's so many things in these verses that are significant for us to name. You can hear a little bit more of this conversation that is happening where Saul is even bringing up like, but Lord, like you know where I've been, you know what I've done, and they all know where I've been and what I've done.

You can hear the shame, right, kind of coming across and coming over him. Yet the Lord continues to say like, go, like, why are you waiting. Get up, get baptized, do the things. And what we see in Saul in his life is that he did that. He made the changes. He didn't just wait around for everything to be the perfect circumstances before he started taking those steps of faith and walking in that direction.

I want to talk for a minute today about the name change. So we're not actually going to see Saul's name changed until Acts 13 to Paul. Now, if you did grow up in the church, you may have heard about it talked about like this, where sometimes people will say Jesus changed Saul's name to Paul, or God changed Saul's name to Paul.

Now we see with Abram to Abraham, God changed his name. We see from Jacob to Israel that God did change in the Old Testament their names. But when you kind of look at the text here, you don't really quite see a time where God specifically says like, you Saul shall now thou be called Paul. Like that actually doesn't happen. And it's really interesting because that's kind of the way that like I always grew up understanding it. Like, and Saul, like after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, never went by that name again. And then all of a sudden like that, he was Paul, the apostle preaching the gospel. And when we talk about all of a sudden, like we think about it like that, like it was like, bam, and he was completely new.

And here's what I want to talk about. This is that yes, Jesus completely transformed his life all of a sudden in that moment, but then Saul had to respond in steps of obedience and start to walk as that transformed person that Jesus made him to be. Eleven times after his conversion on the road to Damascus, he's called Saul in scriptures. And it wasn't until Cyprus that he starts going by Paul. And this is in Acts 13. And the first time we see it, it says in verse 9 in Acts 13:9, but Saul also called Paul filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul, also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit.

So from this point, he goes on to preach and to go by Paul the apostle. But you remember there was a significant thing where like even when Jesus spoke to him, he's like, I'm going to call you to preach to the Gentiles. Like there were some specific invitations. So we all have that same call to go and to be with Jesus and to make disciples and do what Jesus did. But then there's these specific tasks within each and every one of us at different times of our lives that God's going to invite us to step into. And so one of those for Paul was saying yes to preaching to the Gentiles.

So we see that he had this conversion moment with Jesus, but then it was as he continued to grow as a missionary that he started to change his name and go by Paul. So he likely was using this Roman name that had these Latin roots instead of his Jewish name, Saul, when he knew in those moments that those people might have been put off by that Jewish name of Saul. And I think about this a lot because sometimes we think that, oh, he did that to completely like disassociate from his old ways and old identity and this and that.

And maybe that could have been it, but I see it so much more as him, as he grew, as he was transformed, that Saul was also making that conscious decision to say like, yeah, I don't really want to go by this anymore because in this context, in this setting, it doesn't really make sense for who I am now. And so now I'm going to go by Paul.

In the same way I think of when my dad's family immigrated here from Ukraine. Most of you probably can't say my last name to begin with, and I won't try you on it. But when they came, the last name that they were given was Sawczak with this harsh little Sawczak. And through the years they're like, well nobody's going to be able to say that here. So S-A-W-C-Z-A-K goes by Sawzak. Like you're sawing a guy named Zak. Or some people say Sawzack and either one of those is fine. Our other immediate cousins, they go by Sawzaks when before they got married her maiden name was Sawzak. Because she's like nobody can say Sawczak so we go by Sawzak. So it's like we're cousins. We have the same name on paper, but like they said it this way. We said it this way. Siri says Sawk-zuk which is like really not the best. But there's a lot of different ways. But the name gets changed, right, from time to time because when my family moved here to this country and there was a new language and it was harder to say, then there was a new name that was given. The name was shortened. It was shifted. It was changed in how it's pronounced to better fit this current moment and who our family is now in this country, in this place.

And so what we see happening is not less significant because it wasn't this now Jesus saying, you now will be called Paul. But if anything, I think it's more significant because it's a sign of Saul's ability to keep walking in obedience and changing and receiving his new identity and putting that identity of Christ upon himself.

Paul in Latin, which his name has Latin roots, means small or humble. Saul, which is that Jewish name, means asked, prayed for, or demanded. It has a little bit more oomph to it in that name, a little more power to it. So you see, as Saul continued to walk closely to Jesus and he started to meet new people in order to be who he needed to be to them in that moment, not because of his identity, but to represent Jesus well, he began to make those changes and to walk in that new identity that had so much more to do with than just a name change.

Walking in transformation

When I was in high school, there was a period of time where all of a sudden I was tripping constantly. Like I'd be walking straight on the floor and I would just fall, like flat on my face. And at first it was like kind of funny. Everyone's like, why does that be fall all the time. Like what. You know, and then finally you're like, maybe something is going on here.

And so what we had realized was in middle school, a few years prior, I had had some knee problems and it's a whole long story, but essentially like we had gone to all these doctors. I was on crutches for months and they're like, you might not be able to walk. Maybe you will. We don't know what's going to happen. And so through prayer, like really believe that in a moment, God divinely healed me of this. And it was like all of a sudden the pain, the swelling, everything was gone.

And the doctors were like, yeah, there was a good chance by 21, you might not have been able to walk, but we don't know why, but you're good. Like you're all clear. There's nothing here. So divine healing when I'm like in middle school. Fast forward to high school and I'm trying to walk in a straight line and it's just like falling all the time. You're like, what's happening.

Well, when I finally, after going to doctors and went to a chiropractor, they're like, your hips are like so twisted. So your legs are significantly uneven right now. So like, no wonder you're tripping. Like you should have like special shoes, all this kind of stuff. And so through then going to physical therapy and adjustments with my back and my hips and all these types of things, then they straightened it out, and I was able to walk.

But now, I had to train myself to walk straight again, to walk normal again. My body had to adjust to now this new healed body and transformed body that I had. You see, I was experiencing some of the pain of it, even though I was healed from what was going on in my knee. I was still experiencing some of that like residue and the leftover things that happened from that season of my life. My body still hadn't finished taking care of what it needed to and straightening out. And so then I'm finding myself all twisted and messed up.

But then once my body was straight, it was so comfortable with walking a little crooked, with walking a little twisted, that it was like I'm almost stumbling in a different type of way because I don't even remember how to walk normal in a straight line anymore. You see, Jesus comes and transforms us and heals us in a moment. But then we have to put that into practice. And we have to every day get up and start walking, healed, whole in the transformed bodies and lives that he has given us.

Transition starts with practice

The final thing I want to talk about today is that transition starts with practice. And this is where the responsibility comes on us a little bit. You know, we talked about, and I want us to hear, even today we're singing this song where it's like, it's not about earning, it's not about striving, like it's not about anything we could do to deserve it. It's all about Jesus and his blood. That is it, right. Like Jesus, the blood, his work on the cross, that's what gives us access to transformation in Jesus. That's it.

But then we have a responsibility in the same way that Saul wasn't looking for Jesus on the road to Damascus. After he encountered Jesus, he had a responsibility to start walking and following him, to start practicing the ways of Jesus so that he could live in that healed, whole new identity. And so we see this, that after 10 years of him continuing to practice, like he just keeps getting bolder and bolder, but it started really small where all of the sudden after he met Jesus, he started to preach. He started to proclaim his goodness. He started trying to go through any open door that he possibly could. He started changing his speech. He started changing his habits.

And eventually we see chapters later that he starts going by a new name. He practiced. He took steps. He went through the training. He went through the process. And I'm sure there was pain along the way. I'm sure that it didn't always feel great when he, whether it was being thrown down in this basket or thrown into prison. Yet he continued to walk, trusting that as he followed Jesus, he was being transformed into his likeness.

Closing prayer

I'm going to invite the worship team up as we get ready to close. Jesus longs to transform our lives. Jesus longs for us to be near to him. This is the goal. That we would be near to Jesus, that we would be in his presence.

Now I'm not proud of what I'm about to share, but confession. I happen to be one of those people where if I walk into a room and something is on the TV I just sit down and I be like, I sit down and I start watching. A lot of times I might be like, I'm watching and scrolling on my phone and you know, maybe I'm by myself in the room. Maybe other people are there. It doesn't really matter. And then, like, it'll just be, who knows, like some show that you would never picture me watching. Like some, like, I don't know, antique show or just something random that you're like, Abbie would not choose this. And eventually the story usually plays out something like this.

Where someone will walk in and they'll be like, I mean, what in the world are you watching right now. And I'll kind of be like, I don't know, it's just on. And then someone else will kind of but in and be like, well, who turned it on. It's like, I don't know. Like, I don't know how it got here. I don't know who turned it on. And here's the thing is that it's one thing to be the person to sit there and be like, well, it's just on. But what really can change that situation is someone, someone takes that controller and says, why didn't you change the channel.

How many times do we just sit there and we're like, we keep scrolling to the next TikTok that comes up on our feed, right. Like we just keep watching as Netflix just goes next, next, next. And we're like, I don't know. It just came on. Like it just happened. And at some point it really doesn't matter who put it on. But what matters is who is going to be willing to take that controller and change the channel.

You see when Saul encountered Jesus he responded by not only saying who are you Lord what's my invitation but then by changing changing the channel he said okay then that's it the way I talked before I'm not doing that anymore the way I walked before no more like we're done with that my old name my old identity that's not me anymore I am taking authority I am taking control of this situation.

And there are some things that we did not control, that we did not turn on in our life. And the Lord meets us in that with his grace and his mercy. And he says, I see you in that pain. I understand the rejection that you are walking through. But right now, my invitation is for you to take control, for you to surrender to me. And in the same way that Saul says, what is my invitation. Would you ask me that same question.

And so as we close today, I want to invite us into that space as we have been for several weeks. As we hear the scriptures and we hear the text and we say, God, we know you're speaking to us. And there might have only been one thing that you heard today that you're really like, wow, God was in that. But he is moving. He is in our midst as we walk through the valleys, as we walk through the highest of heights and the lowest of lows. His presence is right here in our midst and he longs to transform us. He longs to change us.

So why don't we. Well, I think a lot of times we don't change because it's too painful. Because in order for us to change and to walk in a new identity, it means us leaving something else behind. And that's hard because that requires grief. That requires sometimes naming the ways that we were holding on and identifying maybe with the wrong things or the wrong people at the wrong time.

In order for us to change, it might be painful because something is dying and death hurts. There's grief in that and it's a process. We don't change because it is a process and we're like, well, that's going to take too long. One of the most profound things that I've lived by that I've heard so many people say is that we completely overestimate what we can do in a year and we underestimate what we can do in five.

What does it look like for you to say like every single day I'm waking up with this in mind of saying five years from now like I want people to come that were in my life and to come back in all of a sudden and see me and be like, whoa, like, man, like, you were loving before but now you really really are kind and compassionate and caring like Jesus was. That we would start to be unrecognizable in the best most powerful ways because of Jesus and the change he's doing in our lives.

In Acts 22, the Lord is saying, quick, leave Jerusalem immediately. That word immediately, without hurry, with like, with hurry, without any delay, get it all out of the way, because I am calling you to see me as the righteous one, to hear me and to speak. And for us it might not be going to Jerusalem or going into Antioch and all the places Paul did but he has places that the Holy Spirit wants to send us and to guide us.

In the same way he said I want you to see me rightly as the righteous one we also don't change because sometimes we don't know how to find the people or if we do have people we're too afraid and we let shame stand in the way from them seeing us and helping us see Jesus and his grace.

I mean, if you're here today, this is a really good start to be here with people. But I would encourage you if you're not in a community to get connected in a community group. If you don't have people that you're praying with and you're reading scripture with to do that, be bold and even asking someone in this room, whether you've met them for the first time today or five weeks ago or five years ago to say like, hey, like I want to invest into relationships with people that I can encourage and they can encourage me that we can continue to say we need to see Jesus as the righteous one.

We need to get back on track and recognizing that all our trying and all our discipline and practice and training ourselves to walk rightly will be nothing if we don't have our eyes set on Jesus, the righteous one. Transformation started for Saul with an encounter with Jesus. And it led to his response. And so the invitation that I want to invite us into is to say, what does it look like for us to say, Holy Spirit, would you show me what is it that I need to change today. What is a small step that I can take.

Because like I shared with Barnabas and Saul, I don't think it was by accident that Barnabas all of a sudden was just super generous and kind and ready to encourage. But I think it was a lot of small steps of intentionality and practice along the way. Of him saying, I'm going to allow you, Holy Spirit, to transform me, but now I'm going to put myself in situations where I'm going to train myself to live in that transformed identity and place.

So I want to invite you to stand today. And we're going to close with a time of worship, but I just want to invite you for just a moment, and as we have for the past several weeks of following Saul's example, would you just close your eyes. And after we just heard from the Lord through that scripture, would you just take a moment and would you say, Lord, who are you. Would you ask the Lord with the same desperation that Saul was saying, who are you. With this desire deep inside him to say, like, I'm asking because I know what people have told me. So I'm not asking just because of that, but I'm asking in this moment because God, I long for you to reveal yourself to me in the way that you know that I need to see you right now.

And so would you just say, Lord, who are you. Would you reveal yourself to me. Would you show yourself to me. Would you remind me that you are all-powerful, all-knowing. Would you remind me that you created me with such intentionality, that there's no mistake in the way that I'm wired, in the gifts, the abilities that you've given me.

Would you ask the Lord to reveal himself to you as a father, as a parent who loves you, who has been holding you, who is going to continue to carry you. So Lord, we just ask, would you just reveal yourself to us today. And in the same way that then Saul said, what do I do. Tell me what to do. Jesus left us an incredible strategy for continuing to partner with him and seeing his kingdom come, and that's his Holy Spirit.

And even right now, today, this is a practice. This is us continuing to train ourselves to make space to hear from the Holy Spirit. And to trust that God, when we ask, he speaks. And so maybe when you ask this question, you're going to think of something that was said during this message. Maybe there's going to be something so specific of a person to talk to, or a friend to reach out to, or whatever it may be that he's going to speak. But we believe the Holy Spirit's going to speak in this moment.

And so would you just invite him. Would you say, Holy Spirit, would you show me what is my invitation. And would you listen. So Holy Spirit, we just invite you to speak. And we fix our eyes and our gaze on you. Would you help us to see you rightly. As we continue to sing these words over you, let this be our response.

That as Saul was willing to not only lay down his life, but to continue to time and time again, would you remind us of the process that we are in and the power that these moments have when we come and we call upon you. That you can change us, you can heal us, you can redeem us, you can restore us in a moment.

And so Holy Spirit, would you come all of a sudden. And would you continue to show us our invitation. As we walk with you towards sanctification, towards this holiness, towards transformation. So as we continue to sing and worship you, God, let this be our response, and would your Holy Spirit just continue to come.

So we pray once more, come Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit. I just want to take a moment as we were singing that. I felt like the Lord was just highlighting to me of that moment again when Saul encountered Jesus and that for three days like he could not see and there were people that came alongside him and helped him and walked with him and that continued to be a part of Saul's story is that we read about like the big really cool moments of transformation but there was so many more moments of like pain and darkness and like I can't really see.

And so this is a little bold and I recognize that but just being that we're in such a special space right now like in the presence of God and the presence of brothers and sisters in Christ. Like, I just want to ask, like, if there's someone that maybe you're here today and you're like, yeah, I'm kind of walking through something and maybe it's super small. You're like, I don't even know if this is worth raising my hand and say, yeah, pray for me. But whether it's like super small or whether it is something really big, like if you're just in a place where you're like, I'm walking through something that I can't really see the other side. I just want to pray for you really quick.

And so if that's you, would you just raise your hand in this place. And we're just going to close by praying for you right now. So Holy Spirit, we just thank you for the ways that you see us in the midst of every single step of the journey. God, that you see us in the midst of the unknowns, that you are with us. And that you say, even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear nothing, for I am with you. In the same way that your spirit was with Saul, when he could not see what was ahead, but kept stepping out anyways, you see us.

And so God, I thank you for the reminder today that sometimes even when healing doesn't come when we think it should or when we want it to, that it doesn't mean it's not coming, but that you are with us, you're healing and you're restoring. And so God, I just pray right now for anyone here that's feeling that discouragement, that's feeling that disappointment of saying, I can't see, but I know I have to keep walking.

Would your Holy Spirit come and empower them in this moment with the strength, with the courage, with the boldness to keep walking in faith, whether or not the sight comes, to keep walking in faith, trusting that you are on the other side, waiting, continue to guide them closer to you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.