Participants: Steven Mirkovich
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000780
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01:00 How often have you thought to yourself
01:03 that you would love the Damascus road experience? 01:08 You wish you had it. 01:10 You read the story there in Acts 9, 01:13 two other places in the Book of Acts, 01:15 Paul's conversion, Christian of all Christians. 01:20 We want that Damascus road experience. 01:22 You know, you've heard them. 01:25 You've sat there in the audience 01:26 or you've been privileged to hear somebody 01:28 share with you their testimony. 01:31 You know, that one where their life was brought back 01:34 from the brink of destruction. 01:37 Self-ruin, throwing their life away-- 01:40 they were crazies. 01:42 Perhaps, they were brought back completely 01:44 from a life of immorality. 01:47 They were desperate. 01:49 You know, that real heart-jerking story. 01:53 The one that, you know, 01:54 tears kind of flood up in your eyes a little 01:56 when you thought, man, 01:57 I wish my story was like that. 02:02 That 180 degree turn, that about phase, aha. 02:06 Turning away from God and turning back to God. 02:08 We all want it. 02:09 We all want this story that we think we need, 02:14 in order to be effective in sharing something. 02:16 We think, well, I didn't get saved miraculously from cancer 02:22 when my life was completely away from God 02:24 and only to have God intervene miraculously, 02:27 heal me from my cancer 02:28 and then to start worshipping and following him. 02:33 What about that person that was in complete rebellion, 02:37 standing in opposition to God, 02:38 maybe they were involved in the occult. 02:41 Maybe they were so far away from God 02:44 that they were the last person in the world 02:45 you could ever think would be a Christian, 02:48 only to meet their maker face to face. 02:54 You know, the person that was a drunk, 02:56 maybe they were a drug user 02:59 and they were driving their car 03:00 only to roll it down an embankment 03:03 and land on top of a tree 03:05 and have the door open and be completely paralyzed, 03:08 only to be able to walk again 6 months later 03:10 and give their life to Christ, and you think, man, 03:13 that's such a powerful story, that's a Damascus experience. 03:17 I wish I had one of those. 03:21 We wish that these stories sometimes were our own. 03:24 We think, well, then maybe I can do something for God. 03:27 That testimony that they've asked me to share so many times, 03:30 maybe then it would actually accomplish something. 03:36 I know, I was there listening, 03:41 at one camp meeting, guy got up there, 03:44 all of us youth were in the pavilion, listening 03:47 and he was telling us about his life on the streets. 03:51 How one time he stabbed a guy in the neck with a pen. 03:57 He had millions of dollars 03:59 in the internet stock exchange program, 04:02 only to lose it all in the moment 04:04 when the market and the internet fell 04:06 and to find himself on the streets using heroin, 04:09 all the rest of it, only to later find God. 04:13 And to be transformed, and we want that story. 04:16 As crazy as it sounds, we wish that story was us. 04:23 We think to ourselves, what's my story? 04:26 Academy boy, raised his whole life in the church, 04:30 knew Christ, you know, accepted his parent's religion, 04:33 now I'm okay, I'm in school or I'm starting my life, 04:37 I'm married, I've got kids 04:39 and everything's been sort of status quo in my life, 04:43 what have I got to share? 04:44 What's my testimony? 04:48 None of us have had light from heaven 04:50 only to blind us for three days 04:52 and then to have scale like substances come off our eyes. 04:57 We want that kind of a story, don't we? 05:03 Maybe you already know, maybe you don't, 05:07 but the number one tool you have, 05:09 the number one arrow in your quiver 05:12 that you can pull out, the ace up your sleeve, 05:16 when it comes to sharing the gospel, 05:18 is none other than what Christ has done in your life. 05:23 We find that in the Book of Acts. 05:26 The main protagonist Paul throughout the Book of Acts 05:30 finds himself in these dire situations. 05:32 In fact, the historian Luke 05:34 takes the opportunity in Acts Chapter 9 05:37 to record his own version 05:38 of Paul's Damascus road experience. 05:44 Three separate times. 05:46 When Paul needed a go-to sermon, 05:48 when Paul needed a go-to Bible study, 05:51 when Paul was facing death, 05:53 when he was facing rulers and kings and glorious people, 05:57 did Paul turn to some sophisticated argument 06:00 from the scriptures? 06:02 No. 06:03 When Paul really needed to reach in to somebody, 06:06 who they knew was the most difficult person 06:08 they could ever possibly reach. 06:11 Agrippa, Festus, you name it. 06:14 Paul turns to his testimony. 06:18 You think Paul? 06:19 Paul who wrote Romans, Paul who wrote Galatians, 06:22 Paul who wrote 40% of the New Testament, Paul? 06:25 I mean, he has so much material to pull from. 06:28 Why his testimony? 06:29 And then you think, "Oh, well, I know why his testimony, 06:31 because it's like one of those cool stories." 06:33 You know, he was persecuting Jews. 06:36 What does the Bible say? Turn with me in your Bibles. 06:38 Today we're gonna take our sermon from the Book of Acts. 06:42 And we're going to Acts Chapter 9. 06:44 This is the first recorded incident, 06:47 the first recorded event in Paul's life, 06:50 really other than when he was there 06:53 when Stephen was being stoned. 06:54 This is really when we really get introduced to Saul-to-Paul. 06:58 Remember, he's only Saul yet, still. 07:01 Here in Acts Chapter 9. We're gonna-- 07:05 beginning in verse 1, Acts 9, beginning in verse 1. 07:08 We're going to look a little bit at a story 07:11 that took place some 2,000 years ago. 07:15 We're gonna look at who this person was. 07:17 What was their situation? 07:19 And what does it teach us today? 07:21 This won't be your traditional 07:22 Damascus road experience type sermon. 07:25 No, this is a training opportunity. 07:27 All of us want to know how to give our testimonies, 07:30 we want to be better prepared 07:34 I think preaching is 07:35 one of the best opportunities to train people. 07:38 Because, they're all there, 07:39 you ask them to come out on a Tuesday evening, 07:40 they're not there. 07:42 You ask them to come on Sabbath, 07:44 then you'll have your biggest group there and you train them. 07:46 This is another one of those training opportunities. 07:49 Many sermons could be brought out from this passage, 07:52 but I think there's a lesson herein for all us. 07:58 Acts Chapter 9, beginning in verse 1 then, 08:01 let's look at this story. 08:04 "Then Saul--" 08:07 Close your eyes for a little bit, 08:08 enter your mind's eye 08:10 and picture the next phrase here. 08:14 "Still breathing threats and murder against 08:19 the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest." 08:24 Breathing threats and murder. 08:28 It's a good movie. This is Saul now. 08:33 Infamous Saul of Tarsus. 08:37 Now if you were to think of Saul right now and his life, 08:41 Saul was not the kind of person 08:43 that was neither here nor there, 08:45 really looking for something to anchor him in life, 08:48 he didn't know what his purpose was in life. 08:50 No, no, no, that's not the Saul 08:51 we find here in Acts Chapter 9. 08:54 We don't find a person here that doesn't have an education, 08:57 that's sort of roaming through life 08:59 as sort of a phantom neither here nor there, 09:02 nothing to commit to, no real direction in life. 09:05 They have no idea where they're going, 09:06 some of these people. 09:08 This is not Saul in this passage, no, no. 09:10 What do we know about Saul? 09:12 History tells us, Saul was from Tarsus. 09:17 Saul was a learned man, educated. 09:22 One could even venture to say he was a master rabbi. 09:27 Had much the torah memorized, the Jew of all Jews. 09:30 Turn there in Philippians 09:32 and read what he has to say about himself, 09:37 a Hebrew of Hebrews. 09:39 He had direction. 09:41 He sat under the feet of Gamaliel, 09:44 studied under the best. 09:46 And not only did he study and know and everything 09:49 but he had purpose in life. 09:50 He knew what his mission was, what his calling was. 09:53 Saul here is still breathing threats to the disciples of God. 09:57 His mission, he had taken it upon himself, 09:59 he had put this yoke on his back. 10:01 And his yoke was to squash something 10:03 that was known at this time as "the way." 10:09 A sect of Jews who followed 10:13 this Jesus character as the Messiah. 10:17 And this Pharisee of all Pharisees, 10:18 Paul, this righteous man, 10:21 blameless before the law with direction. 10:23 He knew it was his calling in life to stop this movement. 10:29 He was there when Stephen was stoned. 10:31 When all of them went to pick up stones, 10:33 who did they lay their robes at? 10:35 Whose feet did they lay it at? 10:37 Who was there? Saul was there. 10:41 Saul was there and he approved. 10:44 I would venture to say, perhaps, 10:46 he even had a smile on his face. 10:50 This was Paul's calling. This was Paul's work. 10:53 Paul had direction. He was well known. 10:55 His reputation went ahead of him. 11:00 When Paul started to say, I'm going in this direction, 11:02 this is what I am going to do. 11:04 If people knew, the Christians nearly said Paul, 11:07 Saul of Tarsus is coming. 11:09 Saul of Tarsus is coming and they would run. 11:12 They would hide. They knew this person's reputation. 11:14 We're gonna see that in this story. 11:17 So Saul here wasn't lifeless, no real calling in life, 11:22 only to then, you know, meet Jesus. 11:24 Listen, this guy was single track mind. 11:27 He knew where he was going. Nobody had to tell him. No. 11:31 So we find then this Saul competent, 11:36 sincere, enthusiastic, energetic 11:40 and he was legal, Roman citizen. 11:46 Saul here shows his power, shows his reputation, 11:50 he doesn't just go to anybody for-- 11:52 he goes to the high priest and he demands letters. 11:55 He says, "Listen, 11:57 I'm traveling up to Damascus to the synagogues there 12:00 and I'm going to look for those of 'the way.'" 12:03 It says, "And asked from him," that is the high priest, 12:07 "letters to go to the synagogues of Damascus, 12:10 so that if he found any who were of the way, 12:12 whether men or women, 12:14 he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." 12:18 Paul here had a goal. He was goal oriented. 12:21 Listen, in the eyes of the world, Paul had it set. 12:26 He was made. He knew what direction he was going. 12:28 That's more than can be said 12:30 for a huge section of our population. 12:37 This guy had made it, so to speak. He had made it. 12:42 A lot of times, you and I think that, 12:44 we look at that person on the subway station 12:47 or on the sky train station, 12:49 or we see them driving their Mercedes E series 12:53 down the freeway and again 12:56 they've got their GPS system there 12:59 and they look like they're ready to go to a business meeting. 13:01 Maybe they're a Wall Street guy. 13:04 Maybe they're a professor 13:05 at a prestigious university like Harvard. 13:08 Maybe they are the CEO of some mega corporation. 13:13 They've got nothing. They have need of nothing. 13:15 They know where they're headed in life. 13:16 They've got direction. 13:18 We think to themselves, 13:19 "That person, they'll never need Jesus. 13:21 How am I ever gonna convince him of their need of Jesus? 13:25 Convince her of her need of Jesus?" 13:28 Maybe she's a famous singer. 13:31 She's on all the magazine covers. 13:34 Maybe not, maybe she's a hot shot in your community. 13:37 You think, how am I gonna-- Maybe you're in high school. 13:39 Maybe you are a high school student, right now. 13:40 And you're thinking to yourself, 13:42 that popular guy or that popular girl 13:45 who everybody just adores and they think, 13:47 "Oh, that's the coolest person in the world." 13:49 They've got the nicest shoes, the nicest clothes, 13:51 the nicest computer, they drive a car. 13:54 Their family's rich, they go on vacations to Europe 13:58 and to South America and they have everything 14:01 they could possibly need. 14:02 And you think, "Well, how am I ever gonna tell this person 14:04 that they need Jesus?" 14:06 That's the kind of person Saul was. 14:08 Nobody would have thought Saul needed Jesus, 14:10 nobody would have thought that even 14:11 if Saul had met Jesus, that he would change. 14:14 What need did he have? He wasn't starving or hungry. 14:17 He wasn't in some ghetto, where life was hard. 14:21 He couldn't get an education, from a single family. 14:23 No, no, no, that was not Saul's situation. 14:29 Saul was tracking correctly. 14:32 But in the eyes of God, he was way off. 14:40 We can't reach everybody, you know. 14:42 We really can't. Sometimes God needs to intervene. 14:47 Sometimes God needs to step in 14:49 and write Himself into your existence, 14:53 into that person's existence, and into my existence. 14:57 God writes himself in. 15:00 God writes himself in and this is the case 15:03 with a person of this stature. 15:05 This was the case. 15:06 God was about to write Himself into the very fabric 15:09 of the existence of Saul. 15:13 Verse 3, chapter 9, verse 3 Acts 9:3 says, 15:16 "As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, 15:19 and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 15:23 Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, 15:26 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'" 15:38 To our world, the sincerity and enthusiasm 15:42 Saul had, it was a virtue. 15:45 We thought he was ready but God, 15:46 no, no, he was tracking correctly 15:48 in the eyes of the world, but God says, no, 15:49 you're not tracking correctly, Saul. 15:52 You don't understand what I've got planned for you, Saul. 15:56 So He shines this bright light. 16:00 I'd like to think that was Jesus, 16:04 just kind of showing up. 16:06 We find later evidence that it was in fact Jesus 16:09 that appeared to Saul here. 16:17 When God appears, when He just sort of, 16:19 "Boo", He's here. 16:21 Most of the time, we know what it is. 16:23 We don't find here Saul say, "What is it? 16:26 What's out there? Who's there? What happened?" 16:29 We don't find him, you know, 16:31 stammering for words, looking-- 16:33 What's the words that comes out of Saul's lips? 16:35 "Who are you, Lord? 16:38 Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus 16:39 whom you are persecuting.' 16:41 It is hard for you to kick against the goads. 16:43 So he trembling and astonished said, 16:45 'Lord, what do you want to do?' 16:48 what do you want me to do? 16:50 Then the Lord said to him, 'arise and go into the city 16:53 and you will be told what you must do.'" 16:55 Think of that wording right there. This was Saul. 16:59 He knew where he was going in life. 17:01 Nobody told Saul yeah or nay. 17:03 What to do and what not to do. 17:05 He was going in that direction. 17:06 And the hardest thing in the world, 17:08 when we're coming to God, now this is again not a story 17:10 about Saul's conversion. 17:12 There's a lesson here in all of this. 17:14 We need to get through this, but I want to point out 17:15 to the fact that, that Saul-- 17:17 this was contrary to what Saul wanted. 17:20 If he's gonna meet God, the last thing he wants God 17:22 telling him to do is what to do. 17:23 'Cause he's ready, he knows what to do. 17:25 He's got his life in order. He's got his ducks in a row. 17:30 But when you meet God, everything falls by the wayside. 17:34 God knows best and God here says, 17:36 "You wanna know what to do? 17:37 Arise, quickly, go to where I tell you to go." 17:39 Just simple. Very simply, "Saul, Saul you're persecuting me." 17:46 Tells him what to do. He's running into Jesus here. 17:50 Luke, in the story in here, is capturing Saul's encounter. 17:55 He's captured what Saul was like before hand 17:59 and now he's capturing his encounter with Christ. 18:05 "And the men who journeyed with them stood speechless. 18:08 Hearing a voice but seeing no one. 18:12 Then Saul arose from the ground 18:13 and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. 18:16 But they led him by hand and brought him into Damascus 18:19 and he was three days without sight, 18:20 neither ate nor drank." 18:22 This was done by purpose. 18:23 You see, somebody that was so certain, 18:25 that had their eyes open. 18:26 They could see above the horizon. 18:28 Saul could see. 18:29 Saul knew what was ahead of him. 18:30 He was charting his course. 18:33 Why do you think, He took away his sight? 18:35 'Cause that's what Saul was relying on. 18:37 He knew that he could see his way through problems. 18:40 He could see his way through the landscape of earth, 18:42 landscape of life. 18:45 And God takes that away from him, 18:47 sends him to his knees. 18:51 Saw no one, had to be led. 18:53 How hard, how humiliating must that have been? 18:57 He's the leader. These guys are following him to go 18:59 capture Christians in Damascus 19:01 and now he needs to be led, like a little child. 19:06 Back to Damascus. 19:12 Now we have an interesting, 19:13 interesting development in our story, 19:15 beginning in verse 10. 19:21 "Now there was a certain disciple 19:22 at Damascus named Ananias. 19:25 And to him the Lord said in a vision, 'Ananias.' 19:28 And he said, 'Here am I.'" 19:30 That's the way I picture it. 19:32 You'll allow me that? You'll allow me that? 19:35 I think if God spoke to me, I'd feel like a mouse, 19:38 maybe even smaller than a mouse. 19:42 The Lord is speaking to Ananias and he says, 19:45 "Here am I, Lord." "And the Lord said to him, 19:48 'Arise and go to the street called Straight. 19:51 And enquire at the house of Judas 19:53 for one called Saul of Tarsus, 19:55 for behold, he is praying. 19:58 And in a vision he had seen a man named Ananias 20:00 coming in and putting his hands on him 20:02 so that he might receive his sight.'" 20:05 Lord here is giving directions to somebody. 20:08 My sermon, this morning, today is entitled 20:14 "Write Yourself in." "Write Yourself In." 20:20 Sermon title is "Write Yourself In." 20:25 Ananias here, he's getting the command from God, "Go. 20:31 Go, I have got something for you to do." 20:33 Ananias here doesn't realize it 20:35 but he's about to write himself in to somebody's testimony. 20:41 We'll pick up on that again later. 20:42 Let's finish the story. Then Ananias answered, 20:45 "Lord, I have heard from many about this man." 20:47 You see, I told you, his reputation went ahead of him. 20:50 These Christians knew. Ananias knew. 20:52 Everybody knew who Saul was. 20:55 Ananias protests, "Lord, I have heard of this man 20:59 and I know what he does, Lord. 21:01 Do you have your head on straight?" 21:03 Basically, Ananias here would say, 21:05 "Listen, Lord, I think you just very well 21:08 may be an absentee landlord. 21:09 You haven't been watching the developments 21:11 in first century Palestine. 21:13 Do you not realize who you're sending me to?" 21:16 God had full knowledge who He was sending him to. 21:22 Ananias protests, "How much harm he has done 21:26 to your saints in Jerusalem? 21:29 And here he has authority from the chief priests 21:32 to bind all who call on your name." 21:35 Ananias here doesn't want to. 21:37 Doesn't recognize the opportunity he's been given. 21:44 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he has become 21:48 a chosen vessel of mine to bear 21:50 my name before Gentiles, 21:52 kings and the children of Israel. 21:53 For I will show him how many things 21:55 he must suffer for my name's sake." 21:59 And then Ananias went his way and entered the house, 22:02 laying his hands on him and he said, 22:06 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you 22:09 on the road has come, He has sent me 22:11 that you may receive your sight 22:12 and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' 22:15 And immediately there fell from his eyes 22:17 something like scales and he received his sight at once 22:20 and he arose and was baptized, 22:22 so when he had received food he was strengthened 22:25 and Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus." 22:28 We're going to return to this story 22:31 towards the close of our sermon, 22:33 but just picture this. 22:35 Saul, this is the person that's gonna turn 22:38 the world upside down. 22:40 At this point, Peter's doing a pretty good job 22:42 leading the flock. 22:44 Things are coming together fairly well. 22:46 There's maybe 5,000-10,000 Christians 22:49 in the Middle Eastern world there. 22:52 Right in and around Jerusalem and a few areas, 22:54 they are beginning to spread out the gospel, 22:56 has just now started to go to people 22:59 other than the Jews, just beginning. 23:02 And Ananias, of course, if he had foresight, 23:05 if he could have looked into the future 23:07 and seen who Saul was going to become, 23:10 the Paul of the New Testament, 23:11 the person that changed the world, 23:13 Ananias would have run. 23:15 He would have loved to have been part of this story. 23:16 But at this time he thinks, what good is there? 23:20 My life's in danger, God. 23:23 And yet, when the Lord calls, he went to write himself in. 23:28 To write himself in, write yourself in. 23:35 Finishing up here then, the story, verses 21, 22, 23:40 let's see, what happens here with Saul. 23:45 "Immediately, he preached the Christ 23:50 in the synagogues that He is the Son of God. 23:53 Then all who heard were amazed and said, 23:55 'Is this not the one who destroyed 23:57 those who called on this name in Jerusalem 24:00 and has come here for that purpose 24:01 so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?' 24:04 But Saul increased all the more in strength 24:07 and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus 24:10 proving that this Jesus is the Christ." 24:18 This is a unique experience. Find many things here. 24:24 But I've heard many people say, 24:25 "Oh, I don't know how to share my testimony," 24:27 or "I've heard some testimonies that they didn't know 24:29 how to share their testimonies." 24:30 And so today, we're going to take a lesson 24:33 then from the historian Luke. 24:35 This great story that has been preached many times, 24:39 many sermons, many lives changed. 24:42 And today, you're going to learn from this story, 24:44 just what you can do to share your story, 24:48 to make an impact. 24:50 The way that this story throughout the ages, 24:53 throughout the entire Christian era. 24:55 This story has served to illuminate to people, 24:59 the grand power God has in transforming lives, 25:03 one of my favorite sentences. 25:06 My favorite definitions, favorite wording, 25:10 of who and what God does and is, 25:12 is that God is a God of transformation and recreation. 25:17 This story of Saul is an absolute about face turn. 25:22 He couldn't have been more recreated. 25:24 He couldn't have been more transformed. 25:28 I couldn't think of very many more different areas 25:30 that Saul could have got. 25:32 I mean, this is absolutely powerful. 25:37 But we find that this is a testimony. 25:40 This is the story of Saul's encounter with Christ. 25:46 Now don't ever think to yourselves, 25:49 that your story needs to be like Saul's 25:52 or like that cancer victim or the drug addict 25:56 or the person that was an atheist 26:00 and was a PhD student and turned and found God. 26:04 Don't think that that's what your testimony 26:05 has to be in order to be effective. 26:07 No, far more people are in the everyday situations. 26:14 Family members, mothers, fathers, children, 26:18 they find themselves weaved 26:20 into the everyday fabric of life. 26:23 Most people don't live in these extreme circumstances. 26:29 The average person is not a CEO, 26:32 a professor at a prestigious university, 26:34 or you name it. 26:35 I have picked on those, but there's other ones, 26:37 but most people are not in that situation. 26:40 Most people are like you and I, everyday people. 26:43 And everyday testimonies count. 26:49 So you need to have a testimony ready to go. 26:52 You need to know your story and know the parts 26:55 that you are going to share and be ready 26:58 when that opportunity comes, 26:59 'cause it's an effective witness. 27:02 Saul perhaps converted more people 27:05 than any other person ever known to mankind. 27:08 Saved maybe, well, yeah, Saul. 27:11 And this guy, when push came to shove, 27:15 turned to his testimony, so each and every one of us 27:18 needs to have that testimony, ready to go, 27:20 to turn to that testimony. 27:23 So carefully prepare a testimony, 27:26 will be one that will serve. 27:28 As I said, it will serve as your most, 27:30 your sharpest, your best arrow in your quiver ready to go, 27:33 whenever you need it. 27:35 So what can we learn then, from this account? 27:40 It breaks down very simply, 27:42 very simply into three categories 27:44 that every good testimony has to have. 27:46 Each and every one of us when we share this, 27:50 this what Christ has done in our lives, 27:53 this encounter with Christ, need to have at least 27:55 these three things present. 27:58 The before, the how and the after. 28:04 Now those are simple to remember, 28:07 they're not always the best words, 28:09 I struggled a little bit with the word after, 28:12 but let's put them in sentences. 28:14 Before you received Christ, how you received Christ, 28:19 and your life after you received Christ, okay? 28:22 Those are the three things that need to be there. 28:25 Now let's look at these a little bit closer. 28:29 Paul, when push came to shove, 28:32 and this is perhaps the number one mistake 28:35 I see and sense when people 28:37 get up to give their testimonies. 28:39 And please recognize that the only time 28:41 to give your testimony, is not when you've been asked 28:43 by your pastor or you've been asked by the evangelist 28:46 or you've been asked by your school to get up 28:48 and give a 20 minute or a half an hour version of it. 28:52 You know, far more of the time, 28:54 you're going to have 3 minutes or less. 28:56 3 minutes or less. 28:58 Listen, we don't have all day long with these people. 29:01 A subway ride is not that long. 29:04 A line up in a grocery store is not that long. 29:08 And so most of the time, 29:09 when we get this opportunity to share our testimony, 29:11 we've got 3 minutes or less to share it. 29:15 And so the number one thing 29:16 that I find is the mistake people think, 29:18 they need to start when they were born. 29:21 "I was born to Harold and Jane 29:24 in 1961 in Little Rock, Arkansas. 29:29 And my parents were--" 29:30 You know, or whatever the case may be. 29:32 "I was born in Toronto, Canada. It's this and this--" 29:35 And they start right at the beginning. 29:36 They may even share a little bit about their parents, before. 29:40 And they give you this biography, 29:42 that's the key right there. 29:44 It's your testimony not your biography. 29:47 People want to know about that, 29:49 there will be opportunity sometimes 29:50 when you'll get that half an hour, 29:51 40 minute opportunity and you can share 29:53 a little bit deeper or maybe you'll develop a relationship 29:56 with somebody and you'll have a little bit more time 29:58 to share some of those intricacies. 30:00 You know, those things that are really meaningful to you, 30:02 but you don't have the time to share them 30:04 every time you give your testimony. 30:06 So in this before section then, 30:09 there are few things, three things in particular, 30:12 you want to have, in this before section. 30:15 First off, you want to start fairly close in time, 30:19 that is in chronology, to when you met Christ 30:22 or when this Christ event in your life-- 30:24 when Jesus became a reality or started to become a reality. 30:27 You want to start fairly close to that event 30:30 and just give an introduction. 30:32 And we find that here in Acts. What does it say? 30:34 Saul was persecuted, that's the before. 30:37 Saul was a man on his way, 30:39 and we knew who he was and he was a persecutor. 30:41 So that's what you want to talk about in your before section. 30:45 You want to mention things like, 30:46 what was most important to you before Christ? 30:50 Was it your career, your fast car, 30:54 all the money in your bank account, 30:56 your wife, your family, 30:59 having all the most toys and best toys? 31:02 What was it that was most important to you in life? 31:05 You want to focus in on that, just before your conversion. 31:08 What were you trying to fill that void with, okay? 31:12 Then you want to answer the question, 31:13 why were they so important? 31:15 Get to the root of the matter. 31:17 Not just money, but why money? 31:22 Why women? Why sex, drugs, and rock and roll? 31:24 Why all of that stuff? 31:25 Why was that what your life consisted of before Christ? 31:28 Get to the root. 31:30 So what it consisted of, why it consisted of-- 31:32 And let me say something here. 31:33 Nobody needs to really know the depths of your drug use 31:38 and what that happened or your sexual exploitations 31:41 or your criminal record or how you did that? 31:44 It's enough to say something like 31:46 I was involved in a life of drugs. 31:49 Listen, popular society tells us enough about murder, 31:52 they tell us enough about drug use, 31:54 enough about sexual exploitation. 31:56 Everybody's got their own mind. 31:57 Let them make their own decision 31:58 as to what that exactly meant. 32:00 Don't glorify your sinful life. 32:03 It's very important not to take the opportunity 32:06 and to really glorify this and say, 32:07 "Oh, I was this and I was that" 32:09 and really kind of make it seem like 32:11 it was fantastic thing that you used drugs 32:13 and had sex with anybody or, 32:15 you know, whatever the case may be. 32:17 And again, maybe that wasn't your situation. 32:20 Whatever your situation was, 32:21 you don't want to glorify that situation. 32:23 Oh, I was a comfortable person. 32:25 Actually, quite at peace watching 32:26 my TV every night and making salad. 32:28 That was a good thing. 32:30 You just want to tell them where you were at, 32:31 what you were filling your life with 32:34 and how that satisfied your need, okay? 32:37 Those are the things that need to be 32:38 present in the before picture. 32:42 For me, in my life, 32:46 my before consisted of guitar, 32:51 I played a lot of guitar and rock and roll music. 32:53 I even had fanciful dreams of going to Spain 32:57 and learning flamenco music. 32:59 I thought perhaps, I could, 33:00 I could be this great flamenco guitarist 33:03 and I filled my life playing the classical guitar 33:06 and playing guitar and thinking 33:07 I was going to go out and do this thing. 33:13 You're before picture is vast and varied. 33:15 As many different people as there are, 33:18 is there's many different before pictures as there are. 33:21 Some are similar. 33:23 And that person sitting in that audience that day, 33:25 when you're sharing your testimony 33:26 or that person on the subway 33:28 may find something in that before picture 33:29 that resonates with them. 33:32 And then you've got them hooked. Wait a minute. 33:33 They'll think, "That was me." 33:36 Well, it may not be a guitar, it maybe something else. 33:38 But they say, "Yeah, that's what I am doing. 33:39 I am trying to fill my life with that." 33:42 It'll resonate with them. 33:44 So that before picture is important. Don't get me wrong. 33:46 I told you not to glorify it, 33:47 but you can't leave it out either. 33:49 That's what connects you 33:51 with everybody else, the before picture. 33:53 'Cause then they can see, "Ah, wow, that's where I'm at." 33:58 No direction in life, nothing solid, nothing transcended, 34:02 you can talk about that emptiness that you felt. 34:04 And that person will, they'll relate to that emptiness. 34:15 So start near your experience with Christ, 34:19 maybe 6 months, a year. 34:21 You know that one distinctive event 34:24 that kind of just sort of, got the ball rolling. 34:27 You know, that event that sort of opened you up to the-- 34:29 even the possibility of Christ. 34:33 You may have been so close off you thought, 34:35 "No way, I can't do this. 34:37 No, it's not going to happen." 34:41 Start there, that one thing. 34:43 It maybe was a sentence you read. 34:45 Maybe it was a commercial on TV. 34:47 Maybe it was a Billboard ad. 34:50 Whatever it was, a conversation, 34:53 start there and it will probably, be fairly close. 34:57 And if it wasn't, skip over everything 34:59 in between until you re-picked up 35:01 your journey with Christ. 35:05 So you want to make sure you get that before part in. 35:07 But that moves very easily then into the "how". 35:12 How did this all come about? 35:14 Now this is the climax of your testimony. 35:17 This is what people really want to know. 35:19 Most of the world, at least the North American world-- 35:22 now if you are watching from outside the world, 35:24 there are probably a lot of people 35:26 that haven't heard the name of Jesus, 35:27 but most of the North American world at least knows, 35:29 when you say Jesus Christ, 35:31 that you're talking about the Christian God. 35:35 So what you want to share with them is, 35:37 is how did that come to be. 35:39 What's the most important part about this, 35:41 this "how" encounter? 35:43 That's what people really want to know. 35:45 They know about them but they need to know the "how", 35:47 the tangible stuff. 35:48 The stuff they can wrap themselves around. 35:52 So how? 35:53 You want to talk about things like 35:55 when did you first hear the message of Christ 35:56 and what was your reaction. 35:57 Were you standoffish? 35:59 Were you too proud to recognize that somebody could die for you? 36:04 Or were you melted instantly? 36:07 Did you realize that 36:09 the infinite God of this universe, 36:11 garbed Himself in human flesh, 36:13 squished Himself down into a man, 36:14 only to die on a cross so that you could live again. 36:17 Maybe it was that impact for right off the bat. 36:21 You need to share that, 36:23 that moment when Christ entered, 36:26 that's the key in the 'how'. 36:28 The moment when Christ entered, what was it? 36:31 Now you maybe sitting to yourself right now 36:33 and saying to yourself, "Hang on a second, 36:35 I was born into a Christian family, 36:38 raised in Christian schools. 36:40 I don't know the 'how' event, it just sort of happened." 36:44 Listen, that's almost more important 36:47 than you could never imagine. 36:52 I know at least, personally, individually, 36:59 I would venture to say several dozen kids my age, 37:04 who are no longer Christians, 37:06 who went through the exact same thing, 37:10 just sort of race throughout. 37:11 They never ever had that coalesce together. 37:15 They never had it come together and now they're gone. 37:18 They are living a life completely outside of Jesus. 37:21 They need to know how did it come about 37:23 that you came together. 37:25 Why? Why did you come together? 37:27 What was it about Christ that finally clicked? 37:30 And you need to think back. 37:32 And it may have been a process 37:33 and here's where there is a bit of grey area. 37:36 I will admit when you're one of those that came through 37:39 and there's not really that much, 37:41 but you need to describe the process, 37:42 the best you can as succinctly as you can. 37:45 That testimony is just as important. 37:47 Now it may not be as important to the outside world, 37:51 but it's very important in the church. 37:52 Share that with your teenagers. 37:54 Ask your pastor, "Can I have a Sabbath school class?" 37:57 Or ask the Sabbath school teacher, 37:58 "Can I come in and share my testimony?" 37:59 If you are one of those. 38:01 Teach it to the early-teen class, 38:02 teach it to the youth class. 38:04 Show them why it is you stayed 38:05 and never did your prodigal son trip, 38:08 prodigal daughter trip. 38:10 It's important. 38:12 Why did you make the decision to trust Christ 38:15 and how did you specifically do that? 38:17 Those are some important points to remember. 38:23 Very, very important in the 'how' section 38:26 is to share with the individual, 38:29 that this was an act of your will. 38:33 Nobody forced you into it. 38:35 Nobody coaxed you into it. 38:36 Nobody bent your arm into it. 38:38 And if they did it, probably you know, 38:41 eventually has to become an act of your will. 38:45 Emphasize the fact that your will was melted to God's. 38:48 You recognize that He wants you to choose. 38:52 That this was free will of volition. 38:55 A volitional act, you wanted to make this decision. 39:01 And emphasize then in this next section, 39:03 the final section of your testimony, 39:05 the 'after' you received Christ section. 39:09 Let's read Saul's event, one more time, 39:12 the after section of his-- verses 20, 21 and 22. 39:15 "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues 39:19 that He is the Son of God, 39:21 then all who heard were amazed and said, 39:23 'Is this not he who destroyed 39:25 those who called on his name in Jerusalem 39:27 and he has come here for that purpose 39:28 so that he might bring them bound to the chief priest?' 39:31 But Saul increased all the more in strength 39:33 and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus 39:35 proving that this Jesus is the Christ." 39:41 In the 'after' portion then of your testimony, 39:45 this is where you want to glory-- 39:47 you want to bask in the knowledge of the salvation 39:50 you've received in Christ. 39:52 You want to talk about that sentence, 39:54 "God is a God of transformation and recreation." 39:57 You want to talk about that newness of life. 40:02 You are a new creature. 40:04 How did God impact you? 40:07 Talk about the glories of life in Christ. 40:11 How did Christ satisfy that need that you were filling once 40:15 with something else and now you filled with Christ? 40:18 How does He satisfy that specifically? 40:23 What changes have occurred in your life? 40:25 Maybe you were so bad that you cussed like a pirate. 40:31 And now, if a cuss word leave your lips 40:35 in this transformation process, you think-- 40:38 and Lord has changed you. 40:43 Talk about those things. 40:45 How now you no longer fantasize 40:47 about every woman that walks by you, 40:48 but Christ has purified your mind. 40:52 People need to know that Christ has the power 40:54 to transform and to change. 40:56 This 'after' portion is perhaps, the number one convincer. 41:01 It's the thing that's going to reach into their heart and say, 41:03 "I want some of that." 41:06 Talk to them about 41:08 how maybe you weren't able to sleep at night. 41:10 You worried about the bills 41:11 and how everything was going to be taken care of you. 41:13 You worried about your rambunctious, rebellious son. 41:16 You worried about your-- 41:18 how you were going to make it through life, 41:20 how was things going to come to-- 41:21 and you had an ulcer 41:23 and you were ill and you were stressed out to the hilt. 41:25 You just didn't know how to manage your life. 41:28 And now that you've met Christ, you have that peace. 41:32 I hope you do. 41:35 You've got that peace that passeth understanding, 41:40 that peace that only Christ could give 41:42 that only God could give. 41:45 Listen, stress is the number one cause of disease 41:48 in our world today. 41:50 People are suffering from this. 41:52 So many ailments are connected to stress. 41:55 Jesus is the number one stress reliever. 41:57 Don't squish those balls, those different, 42:00 you know, those things 42:02 that sit in your hand, they are really soft 42:03 and relieve stress, relieve stress. 42:05 Take a hold of Christ. 42:07 Show them how taking a hold of Christ has brought 42:10 a relief of stress from your life. 42:16 Finally, in that section, 42:18 talk about how you know that Christ is in your life 42:23 and that your life now has meaning beyond the grave. 42:27 Your life now has something for which to look forward to. 42:32 In this world, death is so final. 42:35 Death is such a final thing. 42:37 People are so deathly afraid of death 42:42 because it feels like there's nothing left. 42:46 And they are right. 42:47 Without Jesus, there is nothing left. 42:50 But you have a hope now. 42:51 Share that hope. 42:53 Share the hope you have in Christ. 42:58 So be practical then. 43:03 Really important thing to do is-- 43:04 it often happens that we get to share our testimony 43:07 soon after we've come to Christ. 43:08 Maybe you just recently, last year, last few months, 43:13 last couple of years have come to Christ 43:16 and you've shared your testimony many times 43:18 and you've really made an about-face turn 43:20 and you've really started to-- 43:21 sometimes if there's a lot of people 43:24 that you are sharing this with 43:25 and they haven't come anywhere near that, 43:28 we can come off as being perfect. 43:31 Now you and I know, you're not perfect yet. 43:33 I know I am not perfect yet. 43:35 Yet, we come across as perfect. 43:36 That can be a turn off. 43:38 Be sure in this 'after' section 43:40 to talk about how Christ is still working in your life, 43:44 is still making changes in your life. 43:46 This is important, very important, very important. 43:58 I want to get to the heart of the matter here though. 44:01 I want to pick up the story of Ananias one more time. 44:07 Sermon titled today was "Write Yourself In." 44:14 Now I want to make something really clear here, 44:16 right at the outset, 44:17 before I really elaborate on this point. 44:19 And I want to make it this. 44:21 I want to make this point in particular. 44:24 This is not-- this idea that I am about to present 44:28 is not in any way some sort of a competition 44:31 to see who is the best soul winner 44:34 or a competition some sort of an event to see, 44:37 "Oh, I can, I can write myself 44:40 in more times than anybody else." 44:41 No, no, that's not the point of this. 44:43 That's not what I'm trying to motivate here. 44:47 But what I do want to motivate, 44:49 what I do want to be clear here 44:52 is that we can be like an Ananias. 44:57 And in sharing the gospel and partaking in a story, 45:01 we can write ourselves into a testimony. 45:06 I want to be in heaven one day 45:07 or a congregation one day and not because of the pride. 45:11 I don't want it to fill my head. 45:15 But because of what it accomplished, 45:17 I would love to be a part of somebody's testimony. 45:24 So that such an integral part of the story 45:27 that I couldn't have been left out. 45:30 Just like Ananias here, 45:32 such an integral part of the story 45:33 of Saul's conversion couldn't be left out. 45:36 The historian Luke said, 45:37 I cannot leave this Ananias part out, 45:40 it's just-- it was a vital, 45:41 it played a large role in the conversion of this man. 45:50 So we need to write ourselves in. 45:52 We need to be looking for opportunities 45:54 to write ourselves into people's testimonies. 45:57 We need to look for an opportunity to be Ananias. 46:02 Look for that opportunity where we can play a pivotal role 46:07 because God has allowed it. 46:09 Remember, it's not because you're so great at soul winning 46:12 or you're so fantastic at being 46:14 at the right place, at the right time. 46:16 Listen, none of us are. 46:17 But sometimes you will be. 46:19 And sometimes you're at the right place, 46:20 at the right time, but you don't take advantage of it. 46:22 God's put you there, 46:24 but you fail to write yourself in. 46:26 You like Ananias said, "Wait a minute, Lord. 46:30 Do you know who this person is? 46:34 Do you know what they are about?" 46:41 Writing yourself in, means being available to God. 46:46 When the situation comes writing yourself in, 46:50 may even be sharing your testimony. 46:57 Writing yourself in then, should be a goal of ours. 47:04 To find a situation, to find an opportunity 47:08 where that soul is looking heavenward 47:10 and God has said, "Messenger, go. 47:12 Please, messenger, go 47:14 and write yourself into this person's testimony. 47:19 Write yourself in. 47:21 I've asked you, you're my messenger, 47:23 you're my ambassador, 47:25 I am pleading through you to them. Please go." 47:33 So that we can be like Ananias then. 47:37 And have been written into, 47:38 perhaps, the most famous testimony of all time. 47:43 The number one conversion story, 47:45 three times recorded in the scripture. 47:47 Perhaps, even a fourth one, 47:48 Paul alludes to it in his other letters. 47:53 Written into, 47:54 one of the greatest stories of all time. 47:56 And how do you know Ananias didn't know? 47:59 He didn't have the foresight 48:01 to see that Paul was going to become a preaching, teaching, 48:04 writing leader of the one movement 48:07 that has turned this world upside down. 48:11 Think what Paul has left behind in his wake, 48:14 of course, he was preaching Christ. 48:16 Christ it's really Christ's wake, 48:17 but Paul was kind of on top of that wave writing it. 48:22 And Paul changed the world. 48:23 Had Ananias known this, 48:25 he wouldn't have hesitated to write himself in. 48:27 No way would he have hesitated. 48:30 But you and I, we think, how could I ever-- 48:34 have you ever heard a great evangelist 48:35 or a great speaker give their testimony? 48:38 And you hear about that person 48:40 who wrote themselves into that testimony. 48:44 And you think yourself, wow, he didn't even do much. 48:49 They just went where the Lord led. 48:51 I mean, what did Ananias do? 48:53 All he had to do was go into the guy's house, pray with him. 48:56 And the guy's written into the story 48:58 and played a pivotal role. 49:00 Sometimes, we think we need a bend over backwards. 49:03 We need to single handedly that will convert the person. No. 49:06 We need to be at the right place, at the right time. 49:08 We need to write ourselves in. 49:09 Don't be afraid of it. 49:13 We need to write ourselves in. 49:14 And then we can like Ananias, look to the person and say, 49:23 this is perhaps, 49:25 one of the most powerful verses in all of scripture. 49:29 And Ananias went his way. 49:30 This is after he's prayed for him. 49:33 No, this is as he is coming to him. 49:37 "He enters the house and laying his hands on him, 49:40 he said, Brother Saul." 49:47 He went from enemy to friend, 49:51 in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. 49:57 Who can be so out there, 50:00 so far away, such an enemy of God, 50:03 as Saul was? 50:06 But we need to take this into consideration. 50:08 Some of us are doubtful. 50:09 We're skeptics at heart. 50:11 And we hear the testimony, we see the transformed life 50:17 and we say, "Wow, let's see where they are gonna be, 50:20 in a year from now. 50:22 Let's see where they gonna be in a few months from now. 50:24 Let's see how their life is going to look 50:26 three years from now, five years from now, 50:27 are they still gonna be here?" 50:29 We are skeptics. 50:31 Somebody has just given their life to God. 50:36 Their entire world has been turned upside down, 50:41 scales may have come off their eyes and we're skeptics. 50:46 God doesn't ask us to be skeptics. 50:50 No, dear friends, 50:51 God does not ask us to be skeptics. 50:55 Your testimony, another person's testimony 50:58 is nothing that we are to look at 51:01 and say impossible, no way, I don't believe it. 51:05 They are lying. It's not gonna last. 51:08 Come on, you know, it's true. 51:11 We've seen it far too often to not believe, that it's true. 51:16 God doesn't ask us to be skeptical, no. 51:18 Dear friends, God asks us to write ourselves in 51:22 and then to uphold that conversion. 51:25 Maybe the reason those things happen so readily 51:28 is because we're waiting for them to happen. 51:33 We were waiting to say, 51:34 "Impossible that he could leave that kind of a life behind. 51:37 That he can leave that much money behind 51:39 or that much power behind." 51:43 We are just waiting for it to happen. 51:45 Self fulfilling prophecy. 51:48 No, we are to follow Ananias here. 51:52 Write ourselves in. 51:53 And recognize that in a moment, 51:58 one can go from enemy of God, 52:00 estranged from God to verse 17, "Brother Saul." 52:07 From enemy to brother, to sister, in a moment. 52:14 Learn to share your testimony. 52:18 It's one of those things when we've got three minutes, 52:21 we can't give them a Bible study on John 3:16. 52:24 Besides it doesn't matter, 52:26 that's just words in a book for them. 52:28 But what we can do, what we can say 52:31 is that existential reality of your life? 52:35 You chose Christ and look at what happen to you. 52:39 Look at what your life has become. 52:43 Your testimony is your number one tool 52:46 in writing yourself in. 52:49 Share with them who you were, 52:53 how you came to be where you're at 52:55 and what life is been like since. 52:59 And the rest of us, when these things are happening, 53:02 when these testimonies are coming true, 53:04 when they're coming in off the streets 53:06 and they will, the church will be filled, 53:08 the scripture says so. 53:12 When they come in and these, these lives are being changed, 53:15 help us, Lord, help us not to be skeptical. 53:19 Help us as Ananias to receive them 53:22 in open arms and say "Brother Saul, sister so and so, 53:28 welcome to the family of God." 53:33 "The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road, 53:36 as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight 53:41 and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 53:44 And immediately there fell from his eyes, 53:47 something like scales and he received his sight at once 53:53 and he arose and was baptized." 53:58 Many of us look to this situation, 54:04 maybe as Saul as entered your church 54:08 and you're tempted to believe that 54:10 he is a wolf in sheep's clothing, 54:12 'cause you just say to yourself that can't be Saul. 54:17 Write yourself in, recognize them. 54:22 A lot of times we wonder to ourselves, 54:24 why don't they stay? 54:27 Why don't they stay 54:28 if they've had this great encounter with God? 54:31 If this is really true, if it was real, 54:33 why doesn't the rubber meet the road? 54:35 Why is that so many times that-- 54:38 they are gone and we don't see them and it's over? 54:44 Maybe it was your attitude. 54:45 Maybe it was because it wasn't Brother Saul 54:48 but it was, "Let's see what happens." 54:54 What if Ananias had done that? 54:57 What if Ananias had looked and said, 55:00 "God, I'm sorry, I think you've lost it. 55:05 I can't do this." 55:07 And he failed to write himself in. 55:10 What if that messenger of God hadn't gone that day 55:13 to the greatest leader this church, 55:17 this Christian church has ever known? 55:22 What if Ananias said, "Nah," 55:25 and failed to have written himself in? 55:28 What if he failed to take the opportunity 55:31 only God could give him 55:34 and then reject that opportunity, 55:36 reject that chance to share 55:39 and to be a part of a testimony? 55:41 We are talking about testimonies today. 55:43 Your testimony is important, 55:45 there's an individual in your life 55:48 who has written themselves in. 55:52 We need to take the opportunity to write yourself in, 55:56 as a very real opportunity. 56:00 Share your before, share your how, 56:03 share you after, write yourself in. 56:07 I encourage you to do so. 56:09 It's the greatest feeling we could ever have. 56:13 Let's pray. 56:16 Father God, today, you have 56:19 spoken through your man servant Saul, 56:23 your man servant Ananias. 56:25 Their testimonies ring true even today. 56:30 We look and we think to ourselves 56:32 what can us 21st century, third millennial Christians, 56:37 how could we be affected, our post-modern mind, 56:41 how could we be affected and yet we are. 56:46 Testimonies happen. 56:48 People meet you in a very real way, God. 56:50 We want to be a part of that. 56:52 Help us to write ourselves in. 56:54 Help us to be those servants, those kind of people. 56:58 We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. 57:03 The Lord has given you your testimony to use it. 57:06 I encourage you. 57:08 Take the time to get together 57:10 and have this power packed testimony ready to use. 57:14 The Lord has given it to you. |
Revised 2014-12-17