Can God Really Change Someone?

Devotional

Day 1: Blinded by Light, Knocked Off Course

A bright flash interrupts Saul’s violent mission, forcing him to confront the Jesus he thought he opposed. True conversion begins when God disrupts our self-assured plans, exposing the gap between what we think we’re doing and what we’re actually accomplishing. Like Saul falling to the ground, we’re invited to release control and let truth dismantle our illusions. This disruption isn’t punishment—it’s the mercy of a God who refuses to let us keep building totem poles of our own ideals. The road to Damascus becomes a metaphor for every moment God reroutes us toward Himself. [10:40]

"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?' 'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied." (Acts 9:3–5, NIV)

Reflection: Where is God disrupting your current path or assumptions? What “righteous mission” might actually be opposing His work?

Day 2: Three Days of Darkness, Three Days of Hunger

Blind and fasting, Saul sits with his insufficiency—no sight, no strategy, no way forward but obedience. Conversion requires this uncomfortable pause where our competence ends and dependency begins. Like recovering addicts admitting powerlessness, we confront the lie that we can self-improve our way to holiness. Saul’s physical blindness mirrors the spiritual blindness of every person who finally realizes they need more than willpower. The darkness becomes a womb for new vision. [17:36]

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels most “unmanageable” right now? How might this weakness be an invitation to experience Christ’s power?

Day 3: “Brother Saul” – When Enemies Become Family

Ananias calls the persecutor “brother,” embodying Jesus’ scandalous embrace. Conversion is never solitary—it requires community to speak identity over us when we still feel like frauds. Ananias’ obedience to bless his enemy mirrors how God often uses unlikely people to mediate His mercy. Their awkward handshake in Damascus becomes the model for every time we’re called to welcome “unworthy” seekers. The church isn’t a club of the righteous—it’s a hospital where former enemies become siblings. [24:42]

"Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 9:17, NIV)

Reflection: Who feels “unworthy” of God’s grace to you? How can you extend the “brother/sister” title to someone unexpected this week?

Day 4: Scales Keep Falling – Conversion as Continuous Journey

Paul’s Damascus Road experience wasn’t a finish line but a starting gate. Later letters reveal a man still being converted—from rigid Pharisee to love-obsessed prisoner. Like Ananias who traded safety for obedience, we’re called to daily conversions: releasing prejudice, softening hearts, trusting deeper. Every area where we still create “totem pole gods” becomes an invitation for fresh encounters. Maturity isn’t outgrowing conversion but leaning into its lifelong work. [27:25]

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you stopped expecting God to change you? What “old scale” still needs to fall from your spiritual eyes?

Day 5: Disruptions as Divine Doorbells

The sermon ends by reframing life’s interruptions—failed plans, painful realizations, uncomfortable calls—as God knocking. What Saul called persecution, Jesus called relationship (“why do you persecute me?”). Our disruptions are personalized invitations to encounter the living Christ. Like Paul and Ananias, we’re called to see every crisis as potential conversion ground. The question isn’t “Why is this happening?” but “Who wants to meet me here?” [30:10]

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2, NIV)

Reflection: What current frustration or disappointment might be God’s doorbell? How could responding to it open a new chapter in your faith story?

Sermon Summary

Acts 9 sets Saul’s story in motion with “murderous threats,” then lets the risen Jesus take over. The light, the voice, and the question “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” turn the hunter into the one being pursued. Paul later names the point of it all in 1 Timothy 1:15. Christ Jesus came to save sinners, with Saul as the front-row exhibit of “immense patience” for anybody who would later believe. The text will not hand out a recipe. Conversion looks less like baking cookies and more like learning how to fall in love. But the same components keep showing up.

First, disruption. Jesus interrupts Saul’s plan and knocks him to the ground. Truth collides with his certainty and exposes the awful irony. The man who thought he was guarding God was actually fighting God. That blow lands because Saul, like so many, had fashioned a god out of admirable traits and community ideals. The totem pole image fits. People carve what they most esteem, then bow to it. Jesus refuses to be a projection. He disrupts, confronts, and speaks.

Second, awareness of insufficiency. Blindness, silence about next steps, and a bare command send Saul into Damascus on someone else’s arm. That is not a neat resolution. It is dependency. The recovery community names step one. Powerless, unmanageable. The pattern runs deeper than the first moment of faith. Later, when anger, compassion, honesty, or courage crack, the same pivot returns. “Who are you, Lord?” Knowing Jesus is the sufficiency the heart lacks. The way forward is not more willpower but more of him.

Third, embrace and blessing through community. Ananias argues, then obeys. He lays hands, calls him “Brother Saul,” and the Spirit fills what blindness emptied. Two conversions rise in one scene. Saul is remade for mission. Ananias is remade for risky love. And Paul does not stop there. Across his letters, the edge of the early zealot softens into love. Again and again, Jesus disrupts, exposes lack, and blesses through the church, so that witness spreads from Damascus to Rome.

Key Takeaways

1. Conversion begins with holy disruption God interrupts settled plans to confront settled certainties. The collision is mercy, not malice, because it tells the truth about who Jesus is and who is actually being opposed. The ground gives way so the Lord can give ground to stand on. The question is not if disruption will come, but whether the heart will let it say what it came to say. [10:40]
2. Self-made gods must be dismantled Pharisee or modern, the reflex is the same. People carve a god from their best traits and call it devotion. The real God refuses to be managed. Conversion is the slow toppling of the totem so the living Christ can speak and lead. [14:13]
3. Insufficiency is the doorway to grace Blindness, unanswered timelines, and a simple command trained Saul into dependence. That is not cruelty, it is cure. Powerlessness makes room for the question that matters most, “Who are you, Lord,” and for the discovery that Jesus himself is the sufficiency lacking. The Christian life grows by returning to that doorway again and again. [18:29]
4. Jesus embraces through embodied community A hesitant saint becomes the hands of Christ. Fear yields to obedience, and an enemy is named “brother.” Most conversions are midwifed by ordinary disciples who risk proximity, lay on hands, and speak blessing. The Spirit loves to travel along those lines. [24:42]
5. Conversion keeps unfolding over time Damascus is a beginning, not a finish line. Read the early Paul beside the later Paul and watch zeal mature into patient love. The same pattern repeats across a lifetime. Disruption, revealed lack, and communal blessing keep driving a deeper knowing of Jesus. [27:25]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:14] - Series aim: encounter the risen Christ
[02:13] - Thomas’ curiosity re-framed
[02:44] - Turning to Saul’s conversion
[06:25] - Recipe vs. falling in love
[07:06] - Reading Acts 9:1-19
[10:40] - Disruption knocks Saul down
[17:23] - Awakening to insufficiency
[20:34] - Powerless and unmanageable
[23:07] - Who are you, Lord?
[24:42] - Embrace through community
[26:06] - Two conversions in one story
[27:25] - Conversion keeps unfolding
[29:38] - Invitation to encounter
[31:20] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Acts 9:1-19 (ESV): Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.
- 1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV): “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

Observation questions

In Acts 9:1-9, what three specific elements (e.g., physical, emotional, relational) marked Saul’s encounter with Jesus?
How did Ananias initially respond to God’s command to help Saul, and what changed his mind (Acts 9:10-17)?
What does Saul’s blindness and dependency on others (Acts 9:8-9) reveal about the process of transformation? [18:29]
According to 1 Timothy 1:15, how does Paul describe his own story in relation to Jesus’ mission?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Jesus asked Saul, “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) instead of “Why do you persecute my followers?” What does this reveal about Jesus’ connection to His people?
Saul’s blindness was both physical and symbolic. How might his inability to see represent a deeper spiritual condition common to all people? [17:23]
Ananias called Saul “Brother” despite Saul’s reputation (Acts 9:17). What does this act of radical grace teach about how Jesus transforms relationships? [24:42]
Paul later calls himself the “foremost” sinner (1 Timothy 1:15). How does this self-awareness shape his understanding of God’s patience and mission?

Application questions

Disruption often forces us to confront truth. What current “plan” or certainty in your life might Jesus be interrupting to redirect you? [10:40]
Saul’s blindness led to dependency. Where do you feel spiritually or emotionally “blinded” right now, and how could leaning on others (instead of self-reliance) bring clarity? [18:29]
Ananias risked loving an enemy. Who in your life feels “unworthy” of your kindness, and what step could you take to reflect Jesus’ embrace to them? [24:42]
Paul’s story shows conversion is ongoing. What area of your life (e.g., anger, courage, honesty) needs a “continued conversion” through Jesus’ patient work? [27:25]
The sermon compared self-made gods to a “totem pole” of our ideals. What admirable traits or values have you subtly turned into idols that Jesus might be toppling? [14:13]
How could your small group become a place where “dependency on Jesus” is practiced openly, rather than hiding struggles to appear sufficient?

Sermon Clips

40s

#EncounterTheRisen

“Is there a place or an, area of your life where you are beginning to feel critically insufficient? What if that's good news? What if that's an opportunity for you to encounter the risen Jesus? And where where in your life is there an opportunity for you to receive embrace by Jesus through the body of Christ? I'm gonna pray that we don't miss opportunities to encounter Jesus this week.”

46s

#RadicalDependency

“Not even not even a resolution promise. Not even go into the city, and then I'll restore your sight. Nope. do what I tell you. Go into the city, and I'll tell you what you must do. I think this is a picture. This is, a description this, complete dependency that is a part of every it's a component that is a part of every conversion story that we suddenly, sometimes, or slowly over time become aware of our radical insufficiency.”

31s

#DivineDisruption

“Now just imagine for a second, he's knocked off his horse. The disruption has happened. God speaks to him audibly. The other people around can hear as well. And he says, why are you you're on the wrong side. You thought you were fighting for me. You're actually fighting against me. And, oh, by the way, now you're blind. Now get up, go into the city, and you'll be told what you must do.”

43s

#NoOtherOption

“Has that happened to you? Has that happened to you lately when you feel like my plan has not worked. And I'm now hearing a plan from God, or maybe it's somebody else. I don't know, but it's my only option. I think that's where Saul gets to. Is it's not that this be blind and go blindly into the city with no promise of what's next is such a great option. It's just the only one he's got left.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Crossroads Church This sermon · AI assistant

What are the essential components of conversion?

How does disruption lead to confronting truth?

Why is community vital in affirming new believers?

Can God Really Change Someone? | Encounter Week 4