Our culture has embraced a slogan which simply says, “Some people will never change.” While that is a true statement, this one is also true. “Any person can change.”
In Acts 9, a murderer named Saul did a complete 180. He had a certain focus, a passion firmly in place, a career to advance and a reputation to protect. He was excelling in establishing the name for himself that he had always wanted. However, in an encounter with God, his life was changed in every possible way, and he submitted to a brand new existence which has caused his name to go down in history as arguably one of the most prolific writers and preachers of all time. By the power of God this man became something he had never been and accomplished something he never set out to on his own, a powerful preacher of the Gospel and author of much of the New Testament.
Saul’s transformation was whole-person. It was whole-life. After being blinded by a light from heaven and submitting to instruction he heard directly from God, he received physical healing and spiritual healing. He followed the other Christian believers’ example and was baptized. Verse 20 tells us he instantly started a new career. He began preaching that Jesus was the Son of God.
People were totally astonished. It would be as if a known terrorist suddenly began holding crusades to tell people about Jesus. The change in Saul’s life was more than internal. It was something people could see. And verse 22 tells us that this transformation was ongoing. He grew more and more powerful and that the way Saul communicated the message that Jesus was Lord PROVED it was true. Saul gained power. POWER! What Saul was motivated by, what fed his pursuits was that quest for power. He found power not in pursuing his own path, but in surrendering to the path God ordained for him. Before he had exercised earthly power to take lives, but he had now been transformed by God’s power to possess a power to save and change lives.
It wasn’t until Saul was brought low, physically, emotionally and spiritually low that his transformation process could begin. For “God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) Let’s bow down and stay bowed down in order to see God take us ALL THE WAY DOWN THE ROAD OF TRANSFORMATION.
Pastor Melissa
