Acts 9:19-31 "When Life Takes A Detour"

Have you ever been headed in one direction, totally convinced you knew what you were doing and where you were going, and then all of a sudden, everything changes? Maybe you were absolutely certain about a decision, a career path or a relationship, but then something happens and the way forward starts to look very different. That’s happened to me more than once. I graduated high school and went to college with my heart set on going into pastoral ministry, until I started having success in music. Then I wrote songs and recorded and put everything into it until that road led to a brick wall with no way forward. Okay!? Then I was hired as a worship leader and I loved it, things were going great, until they weren’t. But then, full circle, here I am, pouring my heart into pastoral ministry—just like my teenage self hoped. I mean, it’s a cool story but I promise you the transitions between those career changes were not fun. Those painful moments of doubt and reflection are where the real change happens, though.

We can all relate to that, right? We’re on a path, confident in our decisions, when out of nowhere, life takes an unexpected turn. It’s easy to look back, once we get past the hard part, and realize we would have never gotten to where we were going if we hadn’t come this way.

Here’s where faith comes in: those moments aren’t accidents. For all of us who trust in the LORD, those crazy turns are part of a bigger plan. His plan. Those are the moments when God is breaking into our lives to redirect us, to transform us. 

Trusting that God knows what He’s doing when life doesn’t go the way we think it should go is really hard. Our faith can’t just be a little invisible opinion we dust off every few Sundays and take to church. Faith has to also be faithfulness, or it’s not really faith at all. It has to make a difference in how we not only see the world but how we live. Whatever situation you find yourself in, faith in God always looks to trust Him for the next move. Yes, in career changes, but also in how we handle it when things go sideways with people. The way we deal with health problems. Money issues. Even little things like traffic and being late—faith, actual faith in God, needs to look like faithfulness. Do we think God knows the right way to handle things or not? Do we trust Him?

Today, we’re continuing to look at Saul—someone who had his entire life’s purpose upended by a personal encounter with Jesus. He went from the church’s greatest enemy to one of its greatest advocates. And just like with Saul, those dead ends and twisted paths are God’s way of nudging us to something greater, something that we might not have even considered before.

Last week we talked about Saul’s road to Damascus experience. He was going there to round up Christians and haul them off to prison but Jesus had other plans for him. Instead, Jesus knocked him to the ground and blinded him, asked why he was persecuting Him and told him to go into the city and wait for further instructions. Then He sent a Christian to heal his sight, baptize him, and give him a new purpose in life. Saul was the biggest enemy of the church, he had devoted his life to destroying it. But now Jesus had saved him, he was to put all that energy into spreading the Gospel instead of trying to stop it.

He left Jerusalem with letters to go to the synagogues in Damascus—official documents to get help from the Jewish leaders in his task force to hunt down Jesus followers.

Well, he’s still going to go to all those synagogues.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Acts 9:19-21

The Jewish leaders were a little confused by Saul’s sermons. “I thought we hated those Jesus people? I thought we were going to track them down and march them to prison in Jerusalem?”

But Saul had gone native. Instead of Dances with Wolves, he was Prancing with Sheep. He WAS a Christian now. A very convincing one, too.

We should never underestimate the power of the Gospel to change someone—even if that someone is ourselves. Jesus transforms us into the person He calls us to be. He calls us to be His activity in the world.

Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. Acts 9:22

Proving. You know what happens when people can’t win an argument, right? They admit they were wrong and change their mind. They thank you for correcting them. Sure. No, most people just get mad.

After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. Acts 9:23-25

Saul has been preaching the Gospel, proving Jesus is the Messiah, the divine Son of God. He’s making a lot of friends but he’s also making a lot of enemies.

There’s a time jump after that line, “after many days had gone by.”

In his letter to the Galatians he talks about this time period in his life. He says he went to Arabia for a while and then returned to Damascus—all this took place over a three year period. We don’t have a lot of details but it seems like he preached in the synagogues for a while and then left town—spent some time in serious spiritual reflection traveling through Arabia. He also says in Galatians that he learned everything about the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus from Jesus Himself. In some way, Jesus showed up and told him about the Christmas story, the parables, the Sermon on the Mount, the crucifixion and resurrection—everything about the Gospel—heaven, hell, the resurrection and life everlasting. 

At one point while Jesus was talking about heaven He must have been like, “You want to go see it?” In 2nd Corinthians 12 he talks about being taken up to the third heaven in paradise and hearing things that cannot be told and that cannot be uttered—things too sacred to even talk about. Jesus brought him back to earth and Saul’s like, “So, I can’t tell anyone about it?” Jesus says, “Well, you can tell but then you have to kill them—everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die.” 

All this probably happened in this three year period he talks about in Galatians. Interesting that Jesus had spent three years with the disciples, and it seems like He spent three years, in some way, with the man we know as the Apostle Paul. 

He said after his time in Arabia, he went back to Damascus. He tried to resume his preaching ministry but the Jewish leaders came up with a plan to kill him. While they were watching the city gates, some of his Christian friends snuck him out by lowering a basket through a window in the city wall. It’s good to have friends. These are the same people he had come here to arrest, now they’re rescuing him. Saul the mighty crusader being lowered in a basket by his church friends. Kind of a trust fall moment.

He decides to go back to Jerusalem and look up the OG disciples. I’m sure Jesus had mentioned them a time or two.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. Acts 9:26

Three years wasn’t long enough for people to forget the atrocities he had committed against their friends and family. Saul had arrested and was directly responsible for the death of so many Christians. He was the reason families were ripped apart and on the run. 

Sometimes we have trouble believing people can really change.

He shows back up after three years and starts asking where and when the church meets. Asking where the leaders are. People are understandably skeptical. They think it’s a trick.

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:27

We’re not sure why Barnabas trusted him but he must have known something the others didn’t. Maybe he saw him preach. Maybe he had friends in Damascus or Arabia. Maybe the Holy Spirit just told him. But everyone loved Barnabus, they all trusted him. He was a member of the Jerusalem church, a leader—he had donated a lot of money and property to the ministry. So, if Barnabus says Saul is okay, then they believed him. He introduced him to a couple of the Apostles. 

We know from his letter to the Galatians that he only met with Peter and James the brother of Jesus. This had to be one of the coolest conversations in the history of the world, and we don’t get to hear it. 

Peter and James meet with Saul. I’m sure they’re still a little skeptical.

Peter probably goes straight to awkward, “Last time you were in town, you were arresting my friends and putting them to death—why should we trust you?”

Saul says, “Because Jesus came to me personally and kicked my butt, blinded me, but then sent a Christian to heal me, baptize me, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I also spent three years with the resurrected Jesus learning about the Gospel—I’ve been preaching it ever since.”

James is curious, “So, you got private lessons with God—what do you think the Gospel is?”

And that’s where it gets really interesting. Because over the next couple of weeks, they compare notes. Peter and James listen to what Saul says Jesus taught him directly. And they’re stunned. Note for note, everything he says lines up perfectly with what Jesus had taught them. They accept him not only as a brother but as an apostle. This is one of the biggest miracles in the entire Bible. Religious people who were once enemies reconciling and agreeing on doctrine—when does that ever happen? Later, Peter will refer to Paul’s letters as Scripture. This was quite a meeting.

So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. Acts 9:28-29

The Jewish leaders were not at all pleased to find out their number one bounty hunter had abandoned his post. Took some courage to go around boldly talking about Jesus in the city that crucified Him—in the place where he had hung up all those wanted dead or alive posters. The Hellenistic Jews were the ones who had Stephen brought before the Sanhedrin and made sure he was executed. They were Saul’s old Jerusalem buddies—partners in crime. He thought they should know what he knows now—that Stephen was right, Jesus is the Messiah. But those conversations didn’t go so well. Now they wanted to kill Saul, too.

Sometimes we get excited about our new faith in Jesus and when we tell our old friends and family about it, sometimes they are less open than we hoped. Sometimes they not only reject what we’re telling them, they reject us. It’s hard.

When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. Acts 9:30

So, his new church friends came to the rescue—got him out of town. It’s good to have NewChurch friends. Helped him get to Caesarea, where he took a ship back to his hometown of Tarsus. And he’s going to be gone for a while. We have no idea what he was doing for the next eight to ten years. I’m sure he continues to preach about Jesus. Probably talks to his family and all the people he knew from back in the day. Continues to grow in his new faith and put all the pieces together of what he knew from his theological education through the lens of everything Jesus had taught him.

We’ll catch up with Saul again in chapter 11. Barnabus is going to go find him in Tarsus and they’re going to become besties and ministry partners—they’re going to change the world.

Meanwhile, without the driving focus of the main terrorist leader—now that Saul was no longer persecuting the church—the first wave of persecution mostly comes to an end. Very clever strategic move by God. Not only pumps the brakes on persecution but gets ready to accelerate the spread of the Gospel at the same time—with the same person. Persecution will certainly pick back up in a few years but for now… 

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Acts 9:31

There were hundreds of various sized churches spread throughout this area. It was mostly made up of Jewish people—the big push to take the Gospel to the Gentiles hadn’t really kicked off yet. The church enjoys a period of peace. It grows stronger. It grows in number. Living in the fear of the Lord means they walked in God’s wisdom, they treated each other with love, they grew in their faith and grew deeper in the knowledge of what it means to live as a follower of Jesus. They continued to gather together as the people of God in Christ, to encourage each other, and be encouraged by the Holy Spirit that dwells in them and guides them. Growth isn’t only about numbers, it’s also about growing deeper in our faith and trust in God. In order for the church to multiply, the new disciples need to be able to also make disciples. And not just fair weather disciples, they need to be able to stand when things get difficult.

This is what it means to be the church.

We should be encouraged. We’re part of the church—the one holy Christian church. We’re one of the churches in this area that God has put here to do His work where we are. We’re called to be NewChurch—to serve Jesus by encouraging each other and helping each other live in the fear of the Lord and be encouraged by the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Gospel, the Church continues to grow. Sometimes it’s not easy but the Lord will watch over the future of our congregation. We just need to keep doing what He’s called us to do: Proclaim Christ! He will bless and keep us.

Looking at Saul’s story, it’s hard not to think about how often I’ve had to trust God through crazy changes in life—times when it didn’t make sense to me but God was working behind the scenes, shaping my future in ways I couldn’t see coming. It’s obvious when I look back to see how He used those things to bring me to where I’m supposed to be. But it’s never easy when it happens.

There’s a story an old preacher told me when I first became a Christian. A famous tightrope walker was thrilling a crowd by walking across a deep canyon with no safety net. He juggled, did flips, and made it all look so easy. Then he goes over to a wheelbarrow and said, “Who thinks I can walk across pushing this?” The crowd had seen him do all kinds of things so everyone raised their hand and shouted, “Yeah! Of course you can! Do it!” The performer singles out a man in the front row who seems to be particularly enthusiastic, “Sir, you believe I can walk across this rope, over the canyon, without a net, pushing this wheelbarrow?” The man said, “Absolutely, I have no doubt!” So, the tightrope walker claps his hands and says, “Fantastic! Then would you please get in the wheelbarrow and let me push you.”

I’ve thought about this story every time something unexpected happened in my life and I had trouble trusting God. Do I trust Him or not? Because that’s what faith looks like.

We’re all going to face moments when we need to believe God knows what He’s doing—even when we don’t. We might be in a season of waiting or dealing with something we didn’t see coming. We might have a situation with someone who hurt us or betrayed us or let us down—are you going to trust God to carry you through it or not? Are you going to say the right thing? Do the right thing? Exercise that faith and let it actually become faithfulness? What else do you think your faith is for? Like Saul, you’ve also been called out of the world and redirected to do important and holy things in this new life He’s given you. You going to do it or not? 

If Jesus is the One pushing that wheelbarrow, or lowering that basket, there’s no better place to be than inside it. It only looks risky if you’re not looking through eyes of faith. You’ve been called out of the world. You’re being called to grow in your faith, live in the fear of the Lord, and encourage each other through the Holy Spirit. You’re part of God’s plan to proclaim the hope of Christ to a world that desperately needs hope. You’ve been chosen to bring peace to a world that doesn’t have peace. You’ve been forgiven so you can offer that forgiveness to others. You can trust that He will keep you and guide you, even through the unexpected twists and turns along the way. He has already begun the transformation of who He’s calling you to be by loving you, forgiving you, and redeeming you to become the person He created you to be. You were once distant from God and His enemy but Jesus saved you and rescued you—He calls you His friend and brother or sister. It’s true that faith has to also be faithfulness but that rests on the fact that Jesus has been perfectly faithful to you, first. I know it’s hard to trust when life doesn’t go the way we want it to, but remember, God has already proven His faithfulness to you in Jesus. He gave His Son for you, to save, and He will continue to guide and direct you through every turn. You have His word. AMEN