From Individual to Generational
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
This week is our last week in our Work In Progress series, and one of the things I’ve continually said is everybody’s a work in progress. You, me, we’re all a work in progress, and we believe Jesus has the power to help us make that progress. We believe Jesus has the power to transform our lives, marriages, families, friends, the very people in our city we interact with on a daily basis. But we don’t just want to say we believe that, we want to show you why we believe that. We want to show you why we believe that using real life examples. So we’ve been studying the transformation of 3 ives in the bible, but we’ve also been playing videos of lives that’re being transformed by Jesus in this very church like the Coleman’s. They’re walking evidence that Jesus really can transform lives not just in the past, but also in the present. We’ve been using real life examples to prove it. So let’s turn to Acts 9:1-19 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle, you’ll find Acts in the last quarter part of your bible. We’ll start in Acts 9:1-20. The title of today’s message is From Individual to Generational, and here’s the big idea. We want to transform the generations...We want to transform not just individuals, but generations.
Context:
Here’s your context. The book of Acts was written by a guy named Luke who was a medical doctor, investigator, and a historian. He wrote it to give an accurate record of the early development of the church shortly after Jesus rose from the dead. Well in ch’s 6-8 Christians are being persecuted, he records the death of the 1st Christian martyr, the 1st Christian to die for our faith. His name was Stephen, he was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus. Now at this stoning was a guy named Saul, also known as Paul. If you hear me say Saul or Paul, it’s the same guy. But he ends up giving his approval of Stephen’s death, and shortly after he goes looking for more Christians to drag them out of their homes, imprison them, persecute them, or kill them on the spot like Stephen. Saul was a dangerous man, he was like an assassin, and we’ll look at 2 moments in his life. We’ll look at his transformation and his investment in the generations... We’ll look at his transformation, and his investment in the generations. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Acts 9:1-19 states, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord...” This goes to show you how much Saul hated Christians. It says he’s “breathing threats and murder” against them. He’s like a bull seeing red, breathing heavily with rage just before it charges. In fact the Greek word for murder can be translated as to slaughter, meaning he doesn’t just want to murder Christians, he wants to slaughter them. Author and scholar F.W. Farrar states, “The part which Saul played during this horrid time of persecution, has always been underrated.” So it’s even worse than what’s often described. Saul was a dangerous, vicious threat to Christians, and the reason he hated Christians so much is because he believed they were leading people away from Judaism. He believed Christians were wrong for believing in Jesus, for leading others to Jesus, and so he thought he was serving God by destroying Christianity.
Again vs. 1, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” He’s getting warrant “letters” to hunt Christians down, including women, which shows how influential women must’ve been in spreading the gospel. They were influential enough to cause Saul to go after them. Both men and women risked their lives spreading the message of Jesus. Christians in our generation fear losing their reputation if they talk about Jesus, they had to fear losing their lives. We hide over a papercut, they faced life threatening cuts like Stephen. That generation risked their lives so this generation could enjoy eternal life with Jesus. Saul was vicious to that generation, but that changes, after he meets Jesus. Here comes Saul’s transformation.
Vs. 3, “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 5 And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Saul meets Jesus...He meets post resurrection Jesus, meaning Jesus has already been crucified and risen from the dead. Saul’s very familiar with the crucifixion of Jesus, he knows without a doubt Jesus died on the cross. Yet here he is encountering the risen Jesus on his way to persecute more Christians, and notice what Jesus says. He doesn’t say why are you persecuting them, he says why are you persecuting me? This tells us 2 things about Jesus. First it tells us Jesus views an attack on the church, an attack on Christians as a personal attack on him. It goes to show you we’re supposed to view the church as a family, because Jesus views an attack on the church, an attack on Christians as an attack on him, as an attack on his family.
Now the second thing this tells us about Jesus is that he really loves the church. I mean you don’t defend things you hate, you defend things you love. I’m not going to war if somebody eats arugula off my plate. But if you eat my steak? It’s go time!...You don’t touch a grown man’s steak...You’ll defend the things you love, and the fact Jesus is defending the church tells us he loves the church. He loves the church and allows us to be adopted into his family the moment we put our faith in him. He allows anyone to be adopted into his family the moment they put their faith in him, just like he’s doing with Saul. Jesus tells him to go in the city to meet a Christian named Ananias, and it’s an act of grace, an act of forgiveness on Jesus’ part. He’s forgiving Saul of his sins and inviting Saul into his family. Saul’s been grieving over his sin which is why he can’t eat or drink anything for 3 days. It’s because he realizes he’s been working against God, he’s been sinning against God which he now knows is Jesus. But Jesus tells him to go into the city where he’ll receive healing and be poured into by other members in the family. Jesus preps the heart of Ananias for this, but Ananias is naturally hesitant to meet with Saul. Listen to vs 13.
Vs. 13, “But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.’ 15 But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” Notice Ananias calls Saul “brother.” He realizes Saul’s faith is genuine, he realizes Jesus has allowed him to be in the family, and so he calls him brother. As his brother he prays for him to be healed and filled with the Holy Spirit, with the power of God.
Vs. 18, “And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’” Saul’s now preaching Jesus, instead of persecuting followers of Jesus, it’s because Jesus changed his life...Jesus changed Saul’s life...The text says he’s healed, he’s fed, he spends some days with the disciples in Damascus, most likely to be poured into by them. Jesus told him to receive “instructions” from Ananias, so he’s most likely being poured into by him and a few other disciples. He’s a work in progress, but Jesus is helping him make that progress, along with others in the church family who are helping disciple him. He then starts preaching Jesus in the very synagogues he got warrants for. Saul’s life was changed by Jesus, and he became one of the greatest Christian leaders we’ve ever known. He actually goes on to write 13 books of the bible, and plants over 14 churches in his lifetime. He was a powerful instrument of God’s grace like Jesus said in vs. 15, and was used to reach the generations. Saul had a heart for the generations to come to know the life changing grace of Jesus for their lives too, and we get a glimpse of this when he pours into a younger guy named Timothy. Historians have found 2 letters Saul wrote to Timothy, and both are included in our bibles. So let’s turn to 2nd Timothy 1:1-5 located in the last quarter part of your bible. It’s 2nd Timothy 1:1-5, and at this point the Romans have thrown Saul into prison, and they’re going to execute him for his faith in Jesus. So these are actually the last words Saul writes before being executed, and he writes it to young Timothy. Listen to what he says to Timothy, and the generational language he uses.
2nd Timothy 1:1-5 states, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.” These verses are loaded with generational language. Timothy’s father wasn’t a Christian and wasn’t very involved in his life. But Paul viewed the church as a family, so he became a spiritual father to Timothy, even calling Timothy his beloved child. Paul pours into Timothy like his ancestors did for him, and is constantly praying for Timothy, even remembering the tears he shed in tough times. Paul invested in younger Timothy, and his generational language continues in vs. 5.
Vs. 5, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” Notice Paul talks about Timothy’s grandmother and mother coming to faith in Jesus first, then they started pouring their faith into Timothy, and he ends up coming to faith in Jesus too. In fact Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:14-15, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s saying Timothy came to faith through his grandmother and mother teaching him the scriptures, teaching him about Jesus from childhood. Ladies if you ever felt insecure or questioned the value of women’s roles in life and ministry, this should change that. Christianity, our church believes women are highly valued image bearers of God, and should play important roles in life and ministry. In fact there’s women in our church right now who are equipping other women to be Lois and Eunice’s in our church, and we want to see more women be a part of that.
We also have another woman in our church who’s working on starting an IF gathering to reach women both in and outside the church. IF gatherings started with the question “If God is real, then what?...What are we gonna do in response to that?” Their answer was to disciple the generations, to grow the generations up in the faith. My point is we have Lois and Eunice’s in this church, and we want to see more in 2020. We want to see more women and even more men learning to study the bible, teach others how to study the bible, and be discipling mentors like Lois, Eunice, and Saul. Paul’s saying these women played a very significant role in leading Timothy to Jesus, and in developing his faith in Jesus. So it’s not just one person who invested in Timothy, it was multiple people and generations. It took a grandma, a mother, and a spiritual father like Paul to help grow his faith. It’s the responsibility of every generation in the church family, to raise the next generation, which is what Paul tells Timothy to do in ch 2:1-2.
2nd Timothy 2:1-2 states, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” Once again we have generational language, and in this case Paul’s specifically talking about raising up a generation of faithful men who can become pastoral leaders. He’s telling Timothy to pour into them so they can pour into others, and reach future generations. Paul’s final words, his final instructions to Timothy, were to pass the faith on to future generations, and he did it. You know how I know?...You’re sitting here...You and I are sitting here...It’s nearly 2,000 yrs later, and we’re sitting here because that generation, poured into the next generation, which eventually led to this generation, coming to faith in Jesus too...Now here’s what this means for us, for our 2020 Year of Transformation. A few weeks ago we gave you a Work In Progress packet that looks like this, if you didn’t get one you can pick it up at our next steps table after the service. It gives you details on our 2020 Year of Transformation. But all this means 2 things for us, it means 2 things for you to consider, as we enter 2020.
#1 Invest In The Younger Generation = We want you to consider investing in the younger generation of our church in 2020. It’s critical for today’s generation because the cycle over the past few decades in American Christianity is kids go to church, they graduate from high school, then drift away from the faith. Some return after getting married and having kids, but many don’t. In a 2019 article by LifeWay Research it stated that 66% of young adults leave the church after high school...66% will leave the church after high school, and there’s a 69% chance they’ll never return...For some of you that’s your story. You grew up in the church, but you later drifted away from the church. It happens to a lot of people, but I don’t want it to happen to this church. I don’t want my kids, your kids, our kids in this church family to drift from the faith. It’s up to Jesus to save and keep them, but it’s the responsibility of the church family to pour into them. It’s our responsibility to teach the younger generation about Jesus and the importance of the church. You can do this by having consistent church attendance, serving on a ministry team, being engaged in worship, maybe even taking notes during the sermon so they see the bible has great value to us. We also want you to consider investing in our children’s ministry or the student ministry we’ll be starting in 2020 for the older kids in our church. Every week I see young girls sitting in our church, I see a group of young boys playing football outside, and we only have a few years left before they’re off to college. Are you willing to pour into them like Paul, Lois, and Eunice did for Timothy? Are you willing to fulfill your role in this church family by joining one of our children or student ministry teams? We don’t need you to be equipped, we need you to be willing. If you’re willing, we’ll equip you. Are you willing to help the younger generation in our church family fall so deeply in love with Jesus and the church, that not one of them drifts away?
#2 Invest In Every Generation = We want you to consider investing in the younger generation, but also in every generation in our church in 2020. You can do this by serving on a ministry team, being a part of a small group where we study the bible, pray, care for each other’s needs. You can even have 1 on 1 meetings where you pour into each other for mutual growth and edification. My point is we want to invest in every generation in our church because as time goes on, we risk getting comfortable and neglecting the generations. It’s what happens to a lot of churches. As time goes on they get comfortable, they go from wanting to reach the generations, to maintaining an institution. They get comfortable, they fizzle out, they stop reaching the generations, and start maintaining a church building filled with empty seats and empty hearts. Imagine what condition humanity would be in, if prior generations sat comfortable, and didn’t pass what they learned onto our generation?...Imagine what condition the church would be in, if prior generations didn’t pass what they learned onto our generation?...Imagine what condition your life would be in, if the people who led you to Jesus, didn’t pass their faith onto you?
The Big Idea:
So here’s the big idea. We want to transform the generations...We want to transform the generations...City Awakening what happened to Saul, can happen to us...It can happen to us, it can happen to anyone who’s willing to believe Jesus is their God who came to live, die, and rise again for their sins like Saul. Saul’s transformation proves it’s all true, proves there’s hope for us, because if Jesus can transform Saul’s life, he can transform our lives too. It’s the great news of the gospel, the great news of having a relationship with Jesus. It’s that you’ll never drift so far from Jesus, that you can’t be reached by Jesus. It’s that you’re a work in progress, but there’s always hope for you, when it’s Jesus who’s helping you make that progress.
City Awakening Jesus isn’t finished with you...He isn’t finished with you, or this church. There’s still new people to be reached in our city, and people to be poured into in our church. The questions is will you, will this generation, be willing to do what prior generations did for us? Will we be willing to turn our lives over to Jesus, and share Jesus with the next generation? There’s still so many stories to be written, so many lives to be transformed in 2020, and my hope is when we gather a year from now in 2020, we’ll be able to say “Look at what God did!...Look at what God did! Look at all the stories that’ve been written, all the transformations that’ve taken place in 2020! It truly was A Year of Transformation...” That’s my hope for our church in 2020. My hope is what Paul says in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” May that be our prayer, and the future reality of City Awakening. May we see God do above and beyond all that we ask or think in 2020. May it truly be, A Year of Transformation. Let’s stand and worship Jesus.
Author and scholar F.W. Farrar states, “The part which Saul played during this horrid time of persecution, has always been underrated.”
2 Timothy 3:14-15, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
#1 Invest In The Younger Generation
#2 Invest In Every Generation
Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen”