All-In in Spite of Your Religion | All-In Week 6

Devotional

Day 1: Blinded by the Light

Saul rode toward Damascus, letters in hand, fueled by religious fury. A flash of light threw him to the dirt. A voice pierced the chaos: “Why do you persecute me?” Saul’s credentials meant nothing here. The hunter became the hunted—not by men, but by Christ himself. [14:37]

Jesus confronted Saul’s violence masked as zeal. Religion had become a weapon, not worship. The voice stripped Saul’s illusions: harming God’s people meant harming God. No amount of piety could justify rebellion against heaven’s King.

You may not wield Saul’s violence, but have you weaponized your beliefs? Do rules or rituals blind you to the living Christ? What “righteous” mission needs interrupting today?

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 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?’”
(Acts 9:1-4, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal any mission you’re pursuing apart from Him.
Challenge: Write down one assumption about God you need Him to confront.

Day 2: Three Days in Darkness

Blinded, Saul groped through Damascus’ streets. The man who once led now needed a hand to guide him. For three days, he fasted—not in piety, but desperation. The Pharisee’s certainty crumbled; his resume meant nothing in the dark. [20:08]

Physical blindness mirrored Saul’s spiritual condition. His expertise with Scripture hadn’t opened his eyes to Messiah. Only helplessness prepared him to hear Ananias—a “nobody” he’d have arrested days earlier.

When has God stripped your competence to make you dependent? What achievements insulate you from needing others? Where might silence expose your soul’s hunger?

“Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”
(Acts 9:8-9, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one area where self-sufficiency blocks community.
Challenge: Fast from one meal today to pray: “What must I release to follow You?”

Day 3: The Cost of Obedience

Ananias hesitated when God said “Go to Saul.” This wasn’t just risk—it felt like betrayal. Yet he obeyed, calling Saul “Brother” before healing his eyes. The church’s enemy became their sibling through a disciple’s costly grace. [21:08]

Jesus didn’t justify Saul to Ananias. He demanded trust. Welcoming Saul meant believing no one—not even persecutors—is beyond redemption. Mercy triumphed over merit.

Who feels beyond redemption in your world? What relationships require you to trust God’s “go” over your fear? When has someone’s grace reshaped your story?

“In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him, ‘Ananias!’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered. The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for Saul of Tarsus...’ ‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man...’ But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument...’”
(Acts 9:10-15, NIV)

Prayer: Ask boldness to love someone you’ve labeled “unreachable.”
Challenge: Call or text someone you’ve avoided due to past hurt.

Day 4: Garbage Compared to Christ

Saul listed his pedigree: lineage, training, zeal. Then he called it all “garbage” compared to knowing Christ. His trophies became trash—not because they were evil, but because they blocked surrender. [24:48]

Righteousness through rule-keeping is counterfeit currency in heaven’s economy. Saul traded performance for partnership, swapping checklists for Christ’s embrace.

What credentials or habits subtly compete with the cross? Which achievements make you feel “safer” than grace? Where does your resume need renouncing?

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more... But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
(Philippians 3:4,7-8, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus that His worth outweighs every achievement.
Challenge: Write three “credentials” you’ll release to God today.

Day 5: From Persecutor to Preacher

Saul emerged from blindness preaching Jesus—the One he’d aimed to erase. The hunter became the hunted by grace. His zeal remained, but its target flipped: now he’d spend that passion to widen the circle he once closed. [29:42]

God redirects but doesn’t remove our wiring. Saul’s education, citizenship, and grit became tools for mission. What we surrender, Christ redeems.

Where has God repurposed your past for His glory? What passion needs redirecting toward His purposes? How can your story proclaim grace, not self?

“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?’”
(Acts 9:20-21, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to align one passion with His kingdom purposes.
Challenge: Share how Christ has redirected your story with one person this week.

Sermon Summary

Jesus sets the frame by pairing two conversions that look nothing alike on paper but end the same way. The Samaritan woman had nothing to lose and found a redeemed story. Saul had everything to lose and found the same grace. Paul’s story shows that religion is a good gift when it is rightly ordered, but it cannot save. For Saul, religion became a pedestal and a hiding place. His resume sparkles: Tarsus, Roman citizenship, Gamaliel’s classroom, Pharisee, “as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” Yet self righteousness pushed him far from God, because the scorecard made him think he did not need rescuing.

Acts rolls a post credit scene after Stephen’s death and quietly drops a name. Cloaks land at Saul’s feet and a larger threat steps onto the stage. Saul breathes out murderous threats because grace offends him. Jesus is handing out for free what Saul worked for, and that shakes an insider’s place. On the Damascus road, heaven’s light knocks him off his high horse. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” lands like a verdict and a mercy. To attack Jesus’ people is to attack Jesus. The question that finally cracks him open is simple and seismic: “Who are you, Lord?” He knew everything about God and still did not know Jesus. That is the most dangerous blindness. It is the kind that thinks it can see.

Jesus blinds him so he can finally see. He is led by the hand into the very city he meant to conquer. Ananias balks, but God names Saul his chosen instrument for Gentiles, kings, and Israel. The church is tested to extend the same grace it received. Saul is tested to lay down the expert, the enforcer, the box checker. Philippians 3 reads like a bonfire of old trophies. Whatever were gains he now calls loss, even “garbage,” compared to knowing Christ. Righteousness by the law gives way to the righteousness that comes by faith.

Jesus does not trash Saul’s passion. He redirects it. The zeal that tried to close the circle becomes the energy that widens it. The enforcer becomes a messenger. The insider of insiders becomes the apostle to outsiders. The call lands here: some need freedom from sin, others from self righteousness. Either way, surrender is the door. God is still knocking people off their high horses and turning religion into relationship so that people can go all in with Jesus.

Key Takeaways

1. Religion makes a handy hiding place. Religious habits can mask unbelief by giving a sense of control and superiority. When the scorecard becomes the savior, repentance goes quiet and compassion dries up. The cure is not ditching habits but dethroning them, trusting Christ more than the record. [08:10]
2. Blindness that thinks it sees. Saul’s “Who are you, Lord?” exposes a heart full of facts but empty of fellowship. Knowing about God without knowing God breeds confidence without listening, rules without love. The Spirit heals this blindness by re teaching people to hear Christ’s voice. [19:02]
3. Jesus knocks insiders off horses. Grace sometimes arrives as a collision that breaks pride before it heals vision. The fall is mercy because it forces a look up and a letting go. Humbling interruptions are not punishments but invitations back to relationship. [15:46]
4. Grace tests the church’s memory. Ananias must remember he was once an outsider to welcome an enemy as family. Churches prove the gospel by giving away the very mercy that saved them. The hardest people to forgive often become the clearest trophies of grace. [21:08]
5. Surrender redirects, not erases, zeal. Christ does not discard gifts or drive; he repurposes them. Old wins become “garbage” when they block knowing him, but passion becomes power when it serves his mission. Vocation turns fruitful when it is handed back to Jesus. [27:54]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:18] - Outcast welcomed at the well
[01:14] - The insider who has it all
[02:54] - Religion cannot save
[05:24] - Education, citizenship, Pharisee resume
[06:52] - Hebrew of Hebrews credentials
[09:26] - Stephen stoned, Saul introduced
[12:23] - Outsiders welcomed, insiders upset
[14:37] - Road to Damascus begins
[15:46] - Knocked off his high horse
[16:32] - Why do you persecute me
[18:11] - Who are you, Lord
[20:08] - Blindness, fasting, and waiting
[21:08] - Ananias wrestles with grace
[24:48] - Gains counted as loss
[27:32] - Chosen instrument to be sent
[28:27] - Redirected passion and gifts
[29:42] - Missionary to the Gentiles
[30:26] - The danger of checking boxes
[33:47] - Chief of sinners reframe
[34:42] - Call to surrender and trust

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 9:1-19 (ESV)
Philippians 3:4-8 (ESV)

Observation questions

What physical and spiritual changes did Saul experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9)?
How did Ananias initially respond when God told him to help Saul, and what reason did God give for choosing Saul (Acts 9:13-15)?
According to Philippians 3:7-8, what did Paul say about his former achievements and religious credentials?
In the sermon, what did Saul’s question, “Who are you, Lord?” reveal about his spiritual condition despite his religious knowledge? [18:11]

Interpretation questions

Why did Jesus confront Saul with the words, “Why do you persecute me?” instead of focusing on Saul’s actions against the church?
How does Paul’s declaration in Philippians 3:7-8 challenge the idea that religious effort or moral performance can earn God’s approval?
What does Ananias’s hesitation to help Saul teach us about the tension between human judgment and God’s redemptive purposes?
The sermon described Saul’s blindness as a mercy. How might hardship or disruption in our lives serve as a means of grace? [15:46]

Application questions

In what areas of your life do you feel tempted to rely on “checking boxes” (e.g., church attendance, moral behavior) instead of cultivating a relationship with Jesus? How could this hinder your need for grace?
Saul’s story shows that God redirects passion rather than erasing it. What gifts, skills, or zeal do you need to surrender to God for His purposes instead of your own? [27:54]
Are there people or groups you struggle to extend grace to because of past harm or prejudice (like Ananias with Saul)? What step could you take to see them through God’s redemptive lens? [21:08]
The sermon warns about “blindness that thinks it sees.” How can you regularly examine whether your knowledge about God is deepening your relationship with God?
Saul had to let go of his identity as an “insider.” What labels, achievements, or roles do you cling to that might block you from fully depending on Christ?

Sermon Clips

36s

“You can know a lot about God and not know God. You can say the right words, you can walk the walk, you can fit the mold, you can even get praise and adoration from other people in the church or in the faith, and you can still be missing the mark if you're not listening to the voice of God, if you're not obeying his call on your life, if you're allowing the rules to get in the way of your love for others, you can check all the boxes and still be blind to what Jesus has for you.”

38s

“Saul is out for blood. He is heading to Damascus because just persecuting the church in Jerusalem wasn't enough, he was going to wipe it from the earth. It says that he's breathing out murderous threats. The very thing that gives us life is breathing out death for him. His whole existence is enraged and his his whole existence is trying to kill the church. He feels justified to do this and he goes to the high priest, he gets this letter and he goes and he heads out to Damascus to continue his rampage.”

35s

“Paul was living a perfect life in his eyes. He didn't need saving, he didn't need rescuing, he's not like one of these women at the well who needed Jesus, he had it all together. His record speaks for himself. If God is about earning your way into the kingdom, Paul would be first in line. And if anyone looked like they were all in from the outside, it's Paul. But his religion became a hiding place.”

34s

“A man who had spent his life obeying the rules and believing that that is what saves him is now saying that those things are garbage compared to the surpassing knowledge of just knowing Christ. He's not saying that obeying the rules, following the rules, doing the right things are bad things, he's saying those things can't save me anymore. Only Jesus can redeem me, and only Jesus can redeem you.”

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What does true religion become without Jesus

What must insiders surrender to follow Christ

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All-In in Spite of Your Religion | All-In Week 6 | Acts 9:1–15