God Chose Me Get Over It

Acts 9 shows Saul of Tarsus as a man wrapped tight in self righteousness, Pharisee zeal, and religious violence. Saul was not just a Pharisee, he was “it to the tenth power,” and that kind of religion drove him 140 miles to persecute Christians he did not even know. Self righteousness had him sticking his nose in a community that had nothing to do with him, thinking he was helping God while fighting against God.

The Damascus Road becomes the place where God chose Saul, so everybody else has to get over it. Saul did not expect the unexpected. Saul did not know he was outside the will of God. Saul did not know an unexpected traveler had been watching every move. Then the light of Christ hit him so hard that it knocked him to the ground. This was not a stumble. This was not a trip and fall. The light of glory body slammed him so he could look up and finally see.

Christ called, “Saul, Saul,” and that double call carried the weight of Moses, Abraham, and Samuel. Saul knew enough Scripture to know that God was not playing with him. The call exposed the lie underneath his mission. Saul thought he knew God’s agenda better than the people God had called to preach righteousness, but ignoring the call did not make God stop calling.

The Damascus Road also becomes a detour. Saul was headed to arrest and kill Christians, but God rerouted him to Ananias. The journey had a detour not because of the route, but because of the destination. Saul could have taken any road, and God still would have found him. When a person’s desired destiny does not line up with God’s destiny, a Damascus Road experience can interrupt the whole plan.

Ananias becomes the picture of hard obedience and unexpected affirmation. God told him to lay hands on a maniac, and Ananias had to call him “Brother Saul.” That one word showed what the church is supposed to be when the blood of Christ has washed a person clean. Old things pass away, and the past cannot stay on the resume forever. If Saul’s past had not been left in the past, the New Testament would not look the same.

God takes the small, the insignificant, and the unlikely, and raises them where he wants them. Christ keeps the called person on the wall, engaged in a good work, refusing to come down for critics, persecution, or foolish noise. God called Saul. God calls whom he wants. Everybody else can get over it.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Self righteousness travels dangerous miles Self righteousness can look like zeal, but Saul shows how far it can run in the wrong direction. A religious person can believe he is defending God while actually resisting the very work of God. The danger is not only bad behavior, but a blinded conscience that mistakes violence for faithfulness. [09:40]
• 2. God’s light can body slam pride The light from heaven did not flatter Saul or negotiate with him. Christ’s presence knocked him down because mercy sometimes has to interrupt pride with force. The fall was not destruction, but revelation, because Saul had to be brought low enough to look up. [13:46]
• 3. Detours reveal God’s destination Saul’s route changed because God had another destination for his life. A detour is not always proof that the road is wrong, because God may be correcting the end, not merely the path. The broken plan can become the place where God reprograms the soul’s spiritual GPS. [21:49]
• 4. Grace calls former enemies brother Ananias had to call Saul “Brother” before Saul had earned the trust of the people he once hunted. That word shows the scandal of the blood of Christ, because grace does not keep yesterday on the resume forever. The church becomes holy when it tells the truth about sin without denying the truth of new creation. [27:33]
• 5. Good work refuses to come down Nehemiah’s word gives strength to anyone tempted to leave holy assignment for foolish argument. Critics can pull at a called life, but the work of God deserves more attention than the noise around it. A person whom God has placed on the wall can say, “God called me to do it. Get over it.”
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [04:58] - God Chose Me, So Get Over It
• [05:39] - The Barber and the Unfixed Soul
• [07:05] - Saul the Pharisee to the Tenth Power
• [09:40] - Self Righteousness Goes Too Far
• [12:10] - Down the Damascus Road
• [13:46] - The Light That Knocked Saul Down
• [17:01] - Saul, Saul and the Double Call
• [21:06] - An Unexpected Detour
• [24:33] - Ananias and a New Destination
• [27:33] - Brother Saul and Hard Grace
• [34:20] - Leaving the Past off the Resume
• [38:20] - A Good Work Cannot Come Down
• [40:37] - Prayer for the Called and Chosen

Bible Reading

Acts 9:1-19
“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 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. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 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. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.’ 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. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ 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.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.” [27:33]

Nehemiah 6:3
“And I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’” [38:20]

Hebrews 9:27
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” [16:49]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 9:1-2, what was Saul planning to do in Damascus, and what does that reveal about how intense his mission had become? [09:40]
2. In Acts 9:3-6, what happens to Saul on the road, and what details show that this was a complete interruption of his plans? [13:46]
3. In Acts 9:10-16, what concerns does Ananias raise to the Lord about Saul, and how does the Lord answer those concerns?
4. In Acts 9:17, what word does Ananias use to address Saul, and why would that have sounded surprising in light of Saul’s past? [27:33]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus asks, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” What does that reveal about how closely Jesus identifies with his people when they are mistreated? [17:01]
2. Saul’s detour led him away from violence and toward prayer, healing, and baptism. What does that suggest about the difference between the destination Saul wanted and the destination God wanted? [21:49]
3. Ananias knew Saul’s history, yet still called him “Brother Saul.” How should the church hold together truth about a person’s past and hope for what grace can make them become? [34:20]
4. Nehemiah says, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” How can a believer tell the difference between a distraction that should be ignored and a responsibility that should be addressed? [38:20]

Application questions

1. Self-righteousness can make a person feel justified while moving in the wrong direction. Where is there a temptation right now to act harshly, speak too quickly, or involve yourself in something as if you are helping God when you may actually be resisting his work? [11:46]
2. Sometimes God has to knock a person down so that person will finally look up. Has there been a painful interruption, humbling moment, or hard season in life that exposed pride or changed direction? What became clearer afterward? [14:57]
3. God’s call does not stop just because it is ignored. Is there an area of obedience, surrender, forgiveness, or service where God has been calling again and again? What has made responding difficult? [20:11]
4. A detour is not always proof that the road is wrong; sometimes God is correcting the destination. What detour in life has felt confusing or disappointing, and how might God have been rerouting spiritual priorities through it? [24:33]
5. Grace called Saul “brother” before he had rebuilt trust. Is there someone whose past is still being held against them in your mind? What would it look like to take their past off the resume without pretending the hurt never happened? [35:44]
6. Old things pass away in Christ. Is there a part of your own past that still defines how you see yourself, even though God is calling you new? What would it look like to live more honestly in that new identity? [35:01]
7. Some good work gets threatened not by open enemies, but by foolish noise and draining distractions. What has been trying to pull you down off the wall lately, and what would it look like this week to stay with the work God has given you? [39:33]