Scriptures: Acts 9:1-22
When we read the New Testament there are many key events that we would consider to be very important. The top two for most Christ-followers would be the resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 9 we read what many would consider the very next in events of importance in the New Testament: the conversion of the Apostle Paul. No other man in history has had the impact on the church that the Apostle Paul had. From one of the lead persecutors of Christians, Paul was transformed by God into one of the greatest heroes of our faith.
In this message, Dr. James Merritt details Paul's dramatic conversion experience, and what we can learn and apply from his radically changed life to our lives in Christ today.
"When you are really set on fire by the Holy Spirit, when you have seen the light of God’s truth, you will no longer separate the church from Jesus. When you give to the church you give to Jesus. When you support the church you support Jesus. When you affirm the church you affirm Jesus. When you love the church you love Jesus. That is what happens when you see the light of God’s truth. An unbeliever might say, 'Well if I saw the light that he saw I would believe too.' Understand, we have a light today that is just as bright, if not brighter, than the light that Paul saw. We have the light of God’s Word." --Dr. Merritt
Keywords: mission, church, Holy Spirit, ignite, fire, witness, boldness, Acts, Luke, Peter, Gospel, persecution, opposition, Gamaliel, Pharisees, Romans, Jesus, Christ, crucifixion, prison, jail, punishment, flogging, remember, recall, Savior, forgiveness, reaction, truth
Pastors Edge provides Bible preachers and teachers with ready-to-use resources and materials based on the preaching of Dr. James Merritt, Senior Pastor at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, GA and host of the international broadcast ministry Touching Lives.