Skip to content Unstoppable Faith: Unstoppable Faith Begins with Real Conversion Apr 13 · 37 min ...more
Unstoppable Faith: Unstoppable Faith Begins with Real Conversion
April 13, 2026 · 37 min
Whether you're climbing the wrong ladder of success or think you're beyond redemption, this message shows how divine interruptions become divine appointments.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
April 13, 2026 · 37 min · "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
Whether you're climbing the wrong ladder of success or think you're beyond redemption, this message shows how divine interruptions become divine appointments. ...more Show the full description Show less Whether you're climbing the wrong ladder of success or think you're beyond redemption, this message shows how divine interruptions become divine appointments.
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In this video 0:00 Paul's Zealous Past: Pedigree and Persecution18:55 Divine Light: God Interrupts Saul's Mission27:46 Humbled and Restored: A New Instrument for God
Paul's Zealous Past: Pedigree and Persecution 0:00 I love that. We did start this series, Unstoppable, Faith That Won't Quit. Last week on Resurrection Sunday, we looked at Jesus. And now for the rest of the series, we're gonna look at this0:12 guy named the apostle Paul, who starts off as very hostile to the faith, in an unstoppable way. But then he has an encounter that we're gonna look at today in Acts chapter 9 on the road to0:24 Damascus and literally changes his life. And so I've got the new shirt on, if you want 1 get 1. But here's what we're gonna see in this series, the way we've designed this series. It starts with Paul's conversion, that's0:35 today. So we're really gonna say what did it look like, how did God show show up in his life, and maybe see how God shows up in your life. Then we're gonna look at Paul's call. We do know and we're gonna see this again0:47 next week, Paul's call was to preach the gospel to the gentiles, plant churches, grow churches, and disciples churches. Now, you may not be called that, but God still has a call on your0:59 life. Then we're gonna look at the reality. Paul encountered a lot of conflict. And so maybe there's some of you here that you're in conflict, you're going through some struggles. We're gonna talk about how do we deal1:10 with conflict, we're gonna look at how Paul says we ought to deal with conflict. Then we're gonna see this, this is a big question for everybody, the idea of pain and suffering. That we're gonna see that Paul goes1:21 through a lot of hard times and a lot of suffering and he cries out and he prays to God and he kinda teaches us how we should deal with hard times in our life. We're also gonna see that Paul, teaches us how
1:32 to engage with a culture that is anti the faith or anti Christianity. And if you're journeying through life and you're gonna share your faith with others, you're gonna encounter people
1:44 that are hostile to the gospel. And so Paul says, here's how we should deal with those who are hostile to the gospel. And then finally, we're gonna look at Paul and we're gonna see that Paul teaches us how to finish
1:55 well. How many of you wanna finish well in your life? And so that's really what we're gonna work in. And so all these issues and all these scriptures that we're gonna be looking at deal with some of the biggest issues
2:05 that you and I will deal with. And so that's why we wanna have an unstoppable faith, a faith that won't quit. Now, we're gonna start towards the end of Paul's life in Acts chapter 22. So we're gonna see we're gonna go
2:16 back to the first of his life. We're gonna see that he's hostile against the church. He hated the church. Wanted to throw Christians in jail. Was there when Stephen was martyred, we're gonna see that here in a second.
2:26 But then as Paul gets converted and he starts planting churches, all of a sudden the Jews who used to be his friend became become their haters. And so in Acts chapter 22, Paul is in Jerusalem,
2:38 He has been arrested. The people want him stoned and killed and Paul starts by saying, Hey guys, I used to be just like you. Alright? And so let's see how Paul identifies
2:50 with the Jewish people in Acts chapter 22 verse 3. He says, listen I used to be just like you. He says, I know y'all hate me now, but let me tell you who I am. I was born a Jew, I was born
3:02 in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, Jerusalem. He says, I studied diligently, not casual man, he had an elite level education under a
3:14 guy named Gamaliel. I'll tell you who he is in a second, but you need to know he was powerful in that day. Probably the most prominent rabbi in the day of Jesus and Paul. And was thoroughly
3:26 trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous. Now listen to this, he says, I was just as zealous as you are for God standing here today. Paul says, listen, I was passionate,
3:38 but I had a misdirected passion. I was passionate against God's new people, the church, and I wanted to do everything I could in a zealous and powerful way to stamp them
3:49 out. Now, you say who's this guy Gamaliel? And this kind of sets the stage for how successful Paul is, in ministry and in life and in church planning and discipleship and growing. Why he's worthy of
4:01 us doing a full study of his life. Now if you go back to Jesus' day, there were 2 major strands of Jewish, let's say teaching as it related to the
4:13 old testament law. 1 was by a guy named Shammai. There was a whole group of people. If you want to think about these 2 groups, think Republicans and Democrats of our day. Okay? Shammai, they
4:25 taught this is how you interpret the law. This is how many laws come out of the laws. This is what we do, this is what we don't do. Man, had a whole teaching and you had he was the right rabbi and then everybody followed
4:35 him. On the other side of the ledger was a guy named Hillel. Hillel had this whole teaching structure and it was very different than Shammai. Shammai was very dictatorial,
4:47 rigid and strict, alright? This is what you just memorize this, do this, everything will be okay. Hillel on the other side was more rhetoric oriented, debate oriented and you notice that God
4:59 uses all of those things that Paul learns under Hillel, but he's actually learned under Gamaliel. You say, Who's Gamaliel? He was Hillel's grandson. So
5:11 man, straight from the line and lineage, Paul was the star pupil who studied Hillel, and when the church began to explode, Paul becomes incredibly angry. So I want you to know Gamaliel,
5:23 who Paul directly studied under, was the most well respected rabbi of Paul's day. So when Paul says, I was trained by Gamaliel, that's pretty
5:35 powerful. You say, Well I've heard that name somewhere else. Well in Acts chapter 1, Jesus tells his disciples, You're gonna be my witnesses when I go back to heaven. In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, even the remotest parts
5:47 of the earth. Acts chapter 2, Pentecost happens. The church explodes. Acts chapter 3, you see Peter and John. John, silver and gold have I none. But what I do have to you, I give it freely to
5:59 you. Jesus. Acts chapter 4, the church is continuing to grow. Jerusalem's getting angry because Peter and John and the church are preaching. And so they gather them in in Acts chapter 4, said you need to stop preaching.
6:11 You know what happens in Acts chapter 5? They keep on preaching. Alright, then this Jewish Sanhedrin, who's kind of the ruling class, the ruling party over everything, calls Peter and John and the
6:22 disciples in. They beat them, put them in prison and say, don't preach again. Sure enough, they get out of prison, what is exactly they do? They go and they preach again. So they pull them back in, the Sanhedrin
6:34 literally wants to kill them. And they said, but we're gonna give you 1 more chance. You either stop preaching or we're gonna put you to death. You probably remember
6:46 this phrase, Peter looked at him and says, It is better for us to obey God rather than man. How many of you remember that? So then it says, sure enough the Sanhedrin
6:58 says, These guys are gonna be put to death, we're gonna stone them, and this guy named Gamaliel, who is also 1 of the Sanhedrin, steps up and he's so well respected
7:10 he addresses the Sanhedrin. He said, hang a hand. Before we go putting them to death, let me pass this thought by you. If this short term
7:21 movement is of man, it'll die. But if it's of God, you don't want to find yourself fighting against God. So Gamaliel
7:33 had stepped back and said, there's something unique about this. This whole Christianity thing, this whole Jesus movement, this whole church thing. And so Gamaliel came in and said,
7:45 listen, I'm gonna encourage you not to stone these disciples, because we can't deny that something powerful and special is happening. And he goes, Sure enough, just trust me. If it's a man
7:57 it'll die, but if God's in on it, we don't want to be fighting God. And so I think it's interesting this guy that trained Paul is the 1 that stands
8:09 up and preserves the lives of the disciples in Acts chapter 5. And so as you journey forward, Paul learned the idea of studying the law, studying the scriptures. When you see Paul's writing
8:21 so many times, he references the old testament and old scriptures and brings it into new light in new testament days post Jesus resurrection day. Why? Because Gamaliel had taught him. Paul
8:32 learned to be a leader under Gamaliel. Paul was sharp, and let me tell you what, all of those talents that Paul developed before he came to faith, God then turned around and used it to build the faith
8:45 and to grow the church. And so maybe there's some folks here today that that you say, Man, I have all of this all of this knowledge, all this leadership, all this wisdom, this stuff that God can't use. That's not true.
8:56 God wants to take everything you know and everything you've learned, everything you've been taught, even before you became a Christian, he wants you to use it for his church and his glory. So the first thing Paul does is
9:07 he steps up and he says, Hey, I was 1 of you. Another time Paul deals with the idea of what brings about salvation. For the longest time as
9:19 a Pharisee, which Paul was, Paul thought he was earning God's love and earning God's favor by his works. In Philippians chapter 3, he's talking to a group of
9:31 believers or a group of unbelievers, a group in a church that they are thinking the same thing. That we don't need this Jesus guy because we follow the law. We follow the
9:43 sacrifices. We're good enough, we're confident in our flesh. So that's what they're thinking. Notice what Paul says in Philippians chapter 3. He essentially says, That's some bad thinking. Alright? Here it is,
9:54 picking up in Philippians chapter 3 verse 4. He says, Though I myself have reasons for such confidence, the same confidence in the flesh that you do. He goes, I want you to know,
10:06 if someone else thinks they have reason to put confidence in the flesh for your salvation, he says, I have more. So here's his pedigree, I was circumcised on the eighth day
10:18 of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. He says, Guys, listen. I got the resume, the references and the ropes. Alright, I got it all. And then he goes on and he says, he's a Hebrew of Hebrews. In
10:30 regard to the law, I was a Pharisee. I had the the greatest religious status there could be. As for zeal or passion, I was persecuting the church.
10:42 As for righteousness based on the law, he says, I was faultless. Now he's about to turn the tables on him. And here's
10:54 what he says, listen. When I was climbing the ladder of spiritual success in my own power, I got all the way to the top and realized that ladder was
11:06 leaning on the wrong wall. And he goes, and some of you are doing the same thing and maybe there's some folks in here today that somehow in your mind you're thinking, you know, if I if I can just be good enough, if I
11:18 can just just do some more things or maybe attend church or serve a little more, that somehow, someway I can climb the ladder of spiritual success so when I finally die and go to heaven, God will look at me and say,
11:29 you're good enough. Come on in. Paul says, listen if you have confidence in the flesh, I have more. He says, as to the law, he says, I was
11:41 faultless. Can I tell you I would never even make that claim? How about you? Right? As to the law, faultless. As to the law, I'm better than some, but I'm not
11:53 faultless. So notice Paul's change. He says, Listen, the ladder of spiritual success doesn't climb the wall of works. The ladder of spiritual success climbs the wall of faith and
12:05 grace, so pick it up. And then he kind of ends this phrase by saying, So, whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for what? For Christ's sake. Man,
12:17 Paul says, Listen, I had more degrees than a thermostat. And he goes, And that's not gonna get me there and it's not gonna get you there either. Alright, so that's Paul. He identifies as a Jew. He's acknowledged
12:28 that righteousness doesn't come from the law, it comes through Christ. But notice before we get to Acts chapter 9, which is what we're gonna look at today, let's see who Paul really was when it came to the church. Pick
12:40 it up in Acts chapter 7. The church has exploded. Pentecost happened in Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 3. Silver and gold have I none. Acts chapter 4, disciples preaching. Acts chapter 5, the church is
12:52 continuing to expand and grow, but the people in Jerusalem are hating it. Acts chapter 6, the church has grown so much, that, that that some of the widows were not being treated right. In Acts chapter
13:04 6, you just like we do as a church, we love our widows. Our deacons are all assigned a widow. We we care for them. We have widows luncheons here. But what was happening in the early church, most of the New Testament
13:13 believers, those first believers were Jews. And so they had a tendency to want to love on and care more for the Jewish widows than the Greek widows. And so what happened is
13:25 these, believers came to the church, went to the disciples and said, Hey guys, our widows are being overlooked in the dissemination of food. So they chose what were referred to as deacons, which means
13:37 servant. And they put them in charge of that ministry. 1 of those very first deacons was a guy named Stephen. Not only was Stephen a good servant, but he apparently was a good preacher. So in Acts chapter 6, he
13:48 becomes a deacon. In Acts chapter 7, he is preaching and they are hating it. So much so that he looks at them and said, You crucified Jesus. And so that's where we're going to pick
14:00 it up in Acts chapter 7. They say, We've had enough of your sermon. It's a bad sermon apparently that they don't like. So pick it up, Acts chapter 7 verse 58. So they dragged him, talking about Stephen, out of the city
14:12 and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. Everybody say Saul. Saul. That's Saul right there. Trained by Gamaliel,
14:24 zealous, passionate, confident in the flesh. He is right here when the first martyr, Stephen, is stoned to death in the church. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed,
14:36 Lord, receive my spirit. Then he fell on his knees and cried out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. I love this. So Stephen is dying. He's praying and forgiving. Guess who else did that?
14:48 From the cross Jesus cried out, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. So, Stephen's absolutely mauling. And then it says when he fell asleep. Now chapter 8 verse 1, and Saul, everybody say
15:00 Saul. Saul approved. And Saul was a sorry dude, folks. Before the encounter we're gonna see on the road to Damascus, Saul wasn't this great guy. He hated Christians,
15:12 were happy to see them stoned to death, happy to see them dying. It says, And Saul approved of their killing. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were
15:23 scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul, there it is again, began to destroy the church. Going from house to house he
15:35 dragged off both men and women. He was equal opportunity right there and put them in prison. So, here's the deal. Paul was doing everything he can. He didn't just disagree with the church. He was trying to delete the
15:46 church. I mean, he he wanted cancel culture, he wanted cancel church is what he wanted, alright? And so here Paul is hardly approving of this. This is the guy we're going to encounter in Acts chapter 9 today.
15:58 Trained by Gamaliel, confident in his flesh, thinks he's got all the right answers and then we're gonna see what, he's persecuting the church. But a little later in his life,
16:11 Paul reflecting on his story and the road to Damascus wrote a couple of verses in Ephesians chapter 3, which Paul basically says, hey don't Ephesians
16:23 chapter 2, Paul basically says in these 3 verses, listen, it's not about your works, it's about God's grace. So let this be the foundation of what Paul sees is
16:34 what real salvation is all about. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8. He says, For it is by grace Everybody say grace. Grace you have been saved through what?
16:47 Faith. And this is not from yourselves, it is a gift. Everybody say gift. Gift is God by faith, because of his grace. Notice what Paul now understands.
16:59 Not by works so that no 1 can boast. But notice, Paul is very clear. You are not just saved from something,
17:12 we are all saved to something. Alright? We are not just saved from our, our past, we're also saved to our future. So notice what he says,
17:23 you're saved by grace through faith. It is a gift of God, not as a result of works. Now look at verse 10, talking about the future. For we are God's handiwork, you're not God's fixer upper, you're God's handiwork,
17:37 created in Christ Jesus to do good works. So he says, at 1 point I saw works as the way to get to heaven. Now I see works as a way for me to thank God I'm going to heaven. Alright? He says,
17:49 created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared for us to do beforehand. So here it is, Paul well trained, he's sharp, he understands debate, he understands
18:00 rhetoric, understands the old testament law. He was a Pharisee. He was highly taught. He was prized pupil of the school of Hillel, but he was taught specifically by Gamaliel
18:13 and now he is out pursuing Christians. Remember what he said. On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church and disciples were
18:24 scattered in all of Judea and all of Samaria. So Paul, he's sitting here attacking all of these Christians in Jerusalem and then he noticed some of them got away. Everybody say some of them got
18:36 away. Alright, so Paul says some of them got away. They went to Damascus. And so Paul says, well we're not going to let that happen. So he says, I'm going to go get those Christians. I'm going to drag them back to
18:46 Jerusalem. We're going to stone them here. We're going to kill them here. So that's the story. Paul in Acts chapter 9 is now pursuing the Christians that had left Jerusalem. So pick it up, Acts chapter 9 verse 1.
Divine Light: God Interrupts Saul's Mission
18:58 Stephen's already been martyred. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked for letters to the synagogues in Damascus. By the way,
19:09 130 miles away. He's walking at the time. He's pretty passionate about destroying Christians. He's pretty passionate about imprisoning Christians. He says to the synagogues in
19:21 Damascus so they could do what? So that if he found any there who belonged to the way, another another way of synonym for saying Christian or disciple or saint or whatever,
19:33 to the way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners back to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. Notice what happened when the
19:45 light flashed. He fell to the ground and heard a loud voice saying, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Can
19:57 I tell you this, God loves you too much to allow you to continue in the wrong direction? If there was anybody you would have thought God couldn't love, it would have been
20:09 Paul. It would have been Saul. He was destroying and killing Christians, but God said, you know what? I'm going to interrupt your direction. Maybe there's some people here that
20:20 you're heading the wrong way fast. You're calm in the wrong ladder of success. God wants to use this message, maybe this week, maybe a song,
20:32 maybe a sermon, maybe something to change your direction, to interrupt your direction. In the old testament Proverbs chapter 14 verse 6 says this, there is a way
20:44 Everybody say there is a way. There is a way that appears, it looks like it, it seems like it might be. There is a way that appears right. But in the end it only
20:56 leads to death. Can can I tell you what? When Saul was going to Damascus, he wasn't guessing, he wasn't wondering, he was confident and committed that his
21:08 way was the best. Got it? I mean he was on it. You say, well pastor, you know maybe if I just drive a little faster, if I run a little harder. Can I tell you if you're
21:20 driving in the wrong way or you're running in the wrong way, all you do is get lost faster? How many of you know? So it doesn't help. I mean Paul's got the pedal to the metal and all of a sudden
21:31 his direction gets interrupted. I remember another guy in the Old Testament like this. How many of you remember the story of Jonah? Remember Jonah? God shows up to Jonah and says, Jonah I want you to go down. I want you
21:41 to preach to the great city of Nineveh. And Jonah looks at God and says, I don't think I'm gonna do that. Turns around goes the other way, instead of heading toward Nineveh he goes down to Joppa, buys a ticket to go to
21:52 Tarshish. Out in the ocean God sends a storm, right? Storm turns him over, the the sailors come and say, hey what did you do to God? Jonah says, Hey throw me over, I'm disobedient to
22:04 God. Ends up in the belly of fish. Here's the key, if you are headed in the wrong direction, God used a light for Saul and a storm for Jonah.
22:18 Might be something else for you, but I will tell you God is going to get your attention and God does want to change your direction if you are headed in the wrong way,
22:30 and so don't be that person. We want to be the kind of people that stand up and say, God just what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do right now? So thought number 1, God will interrupt your direction. Here's
22:41 thought number 2, a real conversion happens when we encounter Jesus personally. So here it is, go back to verse 4 then we'll pick it up in verse 5, Acts chapter 9
22:52 verse 4. He, Saul, fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Kind of interesting. Saul had all the answers until Jesus asked him 1 question.
23:05 Maybe there's some people in here that you have all the answers in the world, but Jesus is asking you a question. Why have you rejected me? So notice as we respond, pick it
23:17 up in verse 5. Saul says, Who are you? Lord? Saul asked, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, he he replied. Look at verse
23:28 6. Then Jesus says, Now get up, go into the city, and you will be told what you must do. Man, what an incredible thought that God just shows up.
23:41 3 things happen. The lights blinded him. The voice stopped him, but he was beginning to move from a committed religion
23:53 to a real relationship with a loving savior. That's the key. Personal conversation I think of a couple of other times in scripture, where someone had
24:05 a personal conversation with the savior. How many of you remember the the story of Zacchaeus? Y'all remember the story? Let's see if you remember the story. Zacchaeus was a You guys know your Bible.
24:17 Just deep in the faith, right? And a wee little man was he? Remember Jesus comes to town and Zacchaeus is a tax collector, he's greedy, he's stealing from people. Remember in
24:29 that day a tax collector would they would send someone like like they would hire a tax collector. Rome would hire a tax collector here in Collin County and say, Listen, if you're from Collin County, you have to excise so
24:40 much tax from all the people in Collin County, or the city of Allen, city of McKinney, whatever city you have. But anything you get above that you get to keep for yourself. Well Zacchaeus was greater. Man, he was getting
24:52 so many more taxes. He was living high on the on the hog. Everybody knew it, everybody hated him, but Jesus came to town. He had heard about Jesus, he was a short guy. He's trying to look at Jesus, so he climbs up in a
25:02 tree. And he thinks he's just gonna watch Jesus go by, kind of like in a parade on a float where they maybe get away. But instead, Jesus turns, walks right to the tree, looks at him and says Zacchaeus come down, I'm
25:14 coming to your house today. Zacchaeus is going, what? That wasn't what I was expecting. Kinda was wanting just a wave. But it says Zacchaeus came down, welcomed
25:25 Jesus into his house, had a personal conversation with him. It says, and then Jesus after this conversation said what? Today salvation has come to your house. Now
25:37 there were some clear results that happened. If you go read the story, it says Zacchaeus immediately did what? It says, he returned everything he sold
25:50 4 or stole fourfold. If he had sold He knew he had ripped off. A lot of people deserved real taxes. He was ripping some people off. He returned it fourfold. Beyond that, as as he journeyed forward, it
26:02 just says he became increasingly generous instead of just greedy. Why? All because of a personal encounter with a real savior. Go to John
26:13 chapter 4. There's another personal encounter. Remember the woman at the well? This woman at the well, if there's anybody that you thought didn't deserve a conversation with Jesus, it was her. Jesus comes down and
26:25 she's coming there isolated and alone because she's probably kind of an outcast in the town. And she comes looking for water and and Jesus talks to her and she's shocked first of all that he's even willing to have a
26:37 conversation with her. Maybe there's some in here today that you think Jesus doesn't even want to have a conversation with me. Yes, he does. She says, you don't want to know what my past is like. And he goes, Oh, I do.
26:49 You've had 5 men that you're now divorced from and the guy you live with right now not even your husband. She begins to have a conversation with him and he goes, you know you came down here for a
27:01 little water. I can give you living water. And by faith she became living water, but then God gave her something. Jesus gave her something to do. She ends up leading the entire town to faith in Jesus
27:13 Christ because they were in had a she had a real personal encounter with Jesus. So I want you to know, Saul had a pretty short conversation with Jesus.
27:24 Zacchaeus had a life changing conversation with Jesus. This woman at the well had a past forgiving conversation with Jesus. So So wherever you think you are today, I want you to know this. Jesus
27:36 wants to have a conversation with you and then he wants to give you something to do. Here's a third thing that real conversion looks like. It produces humility.
Humbled and Restored: A New Instrument for God
27:50 Paul was anything but humble until Jesus showed up. And so let me show it to you, pick it up verse 7. Let's just keep on reading, here it is. Verse 7
28:02 says, the men that were tra Now Paul's fallen down, the men that will travel to him stood there speechless. They heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but he opened his eyes, he could see
28:13 nothing. So they led him by the hand of Damascus. So he goes on and gets to Damascus. For 3 days he was blind and he did not eat or drink anything. Now here's what we see. Paul was anything, anything
28:25 but humble. Until Jesus showed up and humbled him. He was walking with his entourage, they were rolling into Damascus, he had his letters, to take Christians away.
28:37 All of a sudden a light shows up, he falls to the ground, he's asked a question by Jesus. Paul, what are you doing? He says, I'm persecuting you. All of a sudden Paul gets up, he can't see. It says he has to
28:49 be led by the hand on into Damascus. Child of God, you can either humble yourself or God will humble you.
29:01 It's happened to me. There have been times where I was a little too sure and confident in myself and God says let just see how this works out for you. But I
29:13 love this idea. Don't ever forget this also proves that Jesus doesn't turn your back on anybody. There was somebody to turn her back on, it was Paul
29:26 who's still named Saul. Boy, I I remember the story of David. Remember to love David. Wonderful man, wonderful story. Boy, little shepherd boy
29:38 becomes a king, kills Goliath, overthrows the Philistines, does everything. And then there's 1 day later in his life where David gets a little too full of himself and thinks, I can have anything I want.
29:51 He brings Bathsheba to him, has an affair with her, her husband turns out to be more honorable. He goes, you know, I'm the king. I can just have her husband killed and take her for my wife. Until the prophet showed up
30:02 and tells him a story and says that man is you. This is David broke and humbled himself. See he thought now that I'm the king I can get rid of get away with anything. Until God
30:14 humbled him. Said David people know what you did. Says he bowed down and you look at Isaiah chapter 51 where he's after that. He says, create in me a clean heart, oh Lord. Renew in me a steadfast
30:26 spirit. You drop down a little further to Psalm 51 verse 17. I I love what David says. He says, you know, I used to feel pretty good about myself. He says, but now
30:38 looking back, the only sacrifice that I can bring to God that is acceptable is a broken and contrite heart. As a child of God, my
30:49 encouragement to you is don't be prideful and arrogant thinking you're all that in a bag of chips and God deserves you and needs you. Come to him with a broken and contrite heart. So remember Paul's
31:01 being led in the hand to Damascus. So let's follow him all all the way into town and see what happens. So in Acts chapter 9 verse 10, here here we are. Real transformation
31:13 happens. It says, now as Paul is being led in the hand, in Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called him in a vision and said, Ananias, I love this. He says, yes Lord, here I am. And the Lord said,
31:23 here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to the house of Judas on straight street and ask for a man named Tars of Tarshish named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named
31:35 Ananias come and placed his hands to restore his sight. Ananias steps back and says, time out Lord. Clearly you have not been reading the headlines in the Jerusalem Post.
31:47 This is the dude who's killing your people. And he's come here to Damascus to do the same to men and women of the faith. And so Ananias begins to instruct God, you've got this
31:59 wrong. This dude, we don't want in our house. But notice God always has a different plan. Says Lord, we don't we don't want him here. I've heard many
32:11 reports of this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with the authority, verse 14, the chief priest to rest all who are in your name. But the
32:23 Lord said to Ananias, go This man is my chosen instrument. I can only imagine Ananias saying, really? Is that the best instrument you could find? Surely
32:35 there's somebody better. He's my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the gentiles and their kings and all the people. So, God says listen, I'm not gonna am I gonna forgive him. I've got a a mission.
32:47 Although he's a jew, he's going to the gentiles. Why? Because all the training and skill he has to debate and rhetoric and talk to them them about it. So he's going to go to the Gentiles and then verse 16, this probably
32:59 made Ananias feel good. And then I will show him how much he must suffer. Ananias said, Well at least we're getting suffering in there. Alright? He says, Suffer for my name. Look at verse 17, then Ananias went to the
33:10 house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road to Damascus, come here, has sent me to you so that you may see again
33:22 and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 18, and immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again. He immediately got up and was baptized. And after taking some food,
33:34 remember he hadn't eaten for 3 days, After taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus before moving on.
33:46 So here you have this prideful, arrogant man who's now transformed because of a light, a question, and a conversation.
34:00 God says I still have a plan for you and I want you to know God still has a plan for everybody in this room. Everybody watching online, doesn't matter where you've been, what you've done, doesn't matter
34:12 your pedigree, it doesn't matter your references, doesn't matter the robes that you used to wear, good or bad. God says I got a plan for you.
34:24 But it starts with a real conversion, a real encounter with Christ. For Paul, there was a light on a road.
34:37 For Jonah, it was a storm in the ocean. For a woman, it was a conversation at a well. For Zacchaeus, it was an interesting view from
34:49 the tree. What about you? Has there ever been a moment in time where you've had a real conversation with Christ about the fact that you're
35:01 not good enough, I'm not good enough, none of us are good enough to get to heaven by our works. But for by grace you have been saved through faith,
35:13 that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Lest no 1 should boast, Not as result of works. I want to invite us on this first
35:25 day of study, so bow your heads there where you are. I want to give everyone in this room and online the same opportunity to simply say, God, like Paul,
35:39 I no longer put any confidence in my flesh. God, I believe you love me so much in spite of my past that you sent your son Jesus Christ
35:50 to die on the cross. God, I believe when he died on the cross and said, father forgive them, he was talking about me. I believe he died,
36:03 was buried, rose again the third day, and I by faith receive him as my savior,
36:17 as my lord. By faith I receive forgiveness of sins. By faith, I receive the gift of eternal life.
36:31 In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
John Mark Caton100K followers
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