Proclamation:
“… As
he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around
him. He fell to the ground and heard a
voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He
replied…” Acts 9:1-9 (NIV)
Explanation:
These
words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the
physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul, while he
was still being called by his given name, Saul, had a life altering encounter
with The Lord on his way to Damascus. He
had gotten letters from the high priest which authorized him to arrest any
believer that he encountered. On his way
there, a light from heaven blinded him and then he heard a voice from heaven.
Application:
After he had an encounter with The Lord, Paul’s life changed
from being a zealot persecutor of Christians to being a zealot for The Lord. He changed from a persecutor to a preacher. The experience humbled him and changed how he
saw the world and how he saw himself. When
you have a personal encounter with Christ, you cannot continue to live your
life as you did beforehand. You become a
new creature, not perfect, but definitely different. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Paul lost his sight for three days. (Acts 9:17-18) The experience for each believer is different
and the change that we undergo is unique for each for each of us. The people who knew us beforehand should
notice a change in us afterwards. When
we do sin we no longer enjoy it as much and we feel guilty afterwards. Some things we no longer do, some things we
do differently, and some things we still struggle with letting go. If we cannot identify the change in our life,
then we should question ourselves regarding our belief in Christ.
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