Saved From One Thing To Something Else
19 For some days Saul was with the disciples at Damascus.
20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,
25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. ”
Acts 9:19–25 ESV Read More
It didn’t take Saul long to start preaching about Jesus, did it? It took about as long as it takes for a lit candle to start putting out light!
Just look at the way God works, too. Part of Saul’s convincing statement about Jesus was he himself. The fact that he came to Damascus to silent people that were proclaiming Jesus and he is now proclaiming Jesus is a powerful message. Maybe Jesus really is the Christ?
It really was a dilemma for his hearers. Saul was a rockstar of a Pharisee. If you heard that Saul was coming to town, it would be on the level of some recognizable preacher coming to town to preach a revival. You’d be excited and you’d want to make sure you made it to the synagogue sometime and maybe take some friends to hear him speak.
This reminds me of the guy I heard about who went on the Hajj. Family members and friends all pitched in for him to make the most holy of all Muslim pilgrimages. He went and during one of the night, had a vision of Jesus. Jesus told him to quit Islam and to become a Christian. The man lived in Turkey and wasn’t totally sure of how to be a Christian, but he believed and obeyed Jesus.
After the Hajj, his family threw a giant banquet for him to hear about his trip. He told them he became a Christian because Jesus told him to! After rejection from his family, he became a pastor and other people in his region of Turkey that became Christians joined him.
God uses the weak to shame the strong. All of the time.
He saves all who call on His name, and He delights in every person that turns from living for themselves to living for Him.
At this point in the book of Acts, the introduction is over. Now the thriller/spy movie begins. This is not the last time that Saul will be lowered out of a city wall at night in a basket. As he was powerful to kill and imprison Christians, his Pharisee replacements are going to try to jail or imprison him.
Once a person is saved, the light of Christ shines from them immediately. The darkness of this world doesn’t know what to do with it, but God will always work His majestic plan.