The Journey Begins // 6.7.26

Devotional

Day 1: When the Detour Becomes the Destination

The road to Damascus wasn’t about Saul’s itinerary. It was about a collision with divine purpose that rerouted his life. Faith journeys rarely follow our planned routes. Like travelers diverted to Cranberry World instead of Plymouth Rock, we often find God’s fingerprints in unplanned stops. The disciples stayed in Jerusalem for years until persecution scattered them outward. Our calling isn’t to map every mile but to embrace holy interruptions. What feels like a detour might be the path where Jesus flashes his light. [32:08]

“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’” (Acts 9:15-16, NIV)

Reflection: Where has an unexpected “detour” in your life revealed God’s presence more clearly than your original plans? How might you lean into interruptions today?

Day 2: Obedience Before Understanding

Saul didn’t debate theology on the Damascus Road. He asked one question—“Who are you, Lord?”—then obeyed the command to go. Faith starts with surrender, not certainty. Like Mother Teresa admitting she’d never have said yes to Calcutta upfront, we’re invited to trust the next step, not the whole staircase. The disciples didn’t sprint to the ends of the earth but let persecution nudge them outward. Our first yes matters more than our final destination. [46:46]

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)

Reflection: What step of obedience is God asking you to take today that doesn’t require full understanding? Where have you delayed acting until you felt “ready”?

Day 3: Preaching Boldly, Trusting Quietly

Paul didn’t wait to become a polished theologian before sharing his encounter. He declared, “This is what I’ve seen,” even when people tried to kill him. Witnessing isn’t about airtight arguments but honest testimony. The early church grew not because believers controlled outcomes but because they obeyed while God brought the increase. Our job is to plant seeds, not demand harvests. [54:34]

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you hesitated to share your faith journey because you felt unqualified? What simple “I’ve seen this” story could you offer someone this week?

Day 4: Starting at the End of Yourself

Some begin faith journeys out of curiosity, others desperation. Paul’s lightning moment contrasts with the quiet nudge many feel when life’s weight crushes self-reliance. The woman at the well, Zacchaeus, the prodigal son—all reached turning points when they stopped pretending they had it together. God meets us not in our strength but in our surrender. [49:55]

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29, NIV)

Reflection: What burden are you carrying alone that Jesus invites you to hand over today? How might admitting your weariness become a starting point for grace?

Day 5: Switching Paths, Not Perfecting Plans

Faith begins when we change direction, not when we’ve fixed our entire route. Saul kept preaching even when chased out of towns because his compass shifted from control to obedience. Like road trippers more focused on companions than maps, we’re called to walk with Jesus daily, not demand life’s full itinerary. [01:00:26]

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV)

Reflection: What practical step—like a morning prayer before checking your phone—could help you “switch paths” this week? Where is God inviting you to walk rather than strategize?

Sermon Summary

The road trip image sets the tone: the trip changes people far more than the stop sign at the end. Acts picks up that same energy. Jesus tells his disciples, “you are gonna be my witnesses” in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, and the story that follows is a journey that shapes the church on the way. The call sets the do first. The where unfolds later.

Acts 1 announces that the Spirit turns ordinary disciples into mobile temples, and Acts 9 shows how Jesus pulls the most unlikely traveler into the caravan. Saul, “breathing out murderous threats,” meets a blinding light and a voice that knows his name. Jesus answers only the first question and leaves the rest hanging: “I am Jesus… now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Obedience comes first. Understanding grows on the road.

The contrast between control and surrender gets real here. The disciples sit tight in Jerusalem for years because “out there” feels unknown. Persecution finally pushes them into the lanes Jesus already marked. Saul’s path works the same way. He isn’t booking his itinerary. Hostility chases him from city to city while God keeps opening mouths and hearts. Barnabas vouches for him. Saul speaks “boldly” about the one thing he can’t unsee: Jesus is alive, and that changes everything. Technique doesn’t grow the church. Testimony does. God owns the outcomes.

The core principle lands plain: what the church is called to do is more important than where the church is called to go. The call is to witness, not to control the endgame. The stories of Mother Teresa and Stephen underline the mercy in that design. If the full route were shown on day one, most people would never leave the parking lot. Jesus doesn’t demand a cliff jump. Jesus already crossed the canyon. The invitation is to switch paths and take the next step.

That next step can be as simple as curiosity or as urgent as desperation. Prayer might be the first knock. Attention to where God already showed up this week might be the first witness. The journey of faith begins when the path changes, not when every destination is mapped. Open hands, not clenched fists, fit this road.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience comes before full understanding. Jesus meets Saul with light, a name, and one instruction: “get up and go into the city.” The pattern holds. Faith moves at the speed of the next step, not the speed of total clarity. Answers often trail obedience by a few miles. [45:30]
2. The mission outweighs the destination. Jesus commissions witnesses, not travel agents. The do is front and center, and the where unfolds as people go. If the whole route were revealed, most would never start; grace meets travelers in motion. [38:11]
3. Witness starts with what you know. Saul doesn’t debut as an expert. He speaks boldly about what he has seen and heard and lets that simple, stubborn testimony do its work. God grows a church through lived encounters, not polished scripts. [54:34]
4. Outcomes belong to God alone. Control feels safer, but it shrinks the trip to what human hands can manage. Obedience entrusts results to the One who writes the story, freeing people to act without the crush of guaranteeing success. [56:02]
5. The journey begins by changing paths. Faith starts when a person turns and takes the first real step, not when every doctrine, habit, and fear is already sorted. Jesus already closed the gap; the call is to follow today. [59:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:48] - Epic road trip setup
[32:08] - Journey over destination
[34:54] - Following Paul around the Mediterranean
[35:52] - You will be my witnesses
[37:00] - Summer reading challenge
[38:11] - Principle: do over destination
[40:45] - Mother Teresa and the yes
[44:55] - Damascus Road encounter
[45:30] - Obey first, answers later
[52:14] - Paul’s route shaped by danger
[54:54] - Obey God, trust outcomes
[58:29] - What is God asking first
[59:42] - Change paths, begin the journey
[71:29] - Assignments and sendoff

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 9:1-20 (NIV)
(Selected verses)
“Meanwhile, Saul… asked [the high priest] for letters to the synagogues in Damascus… As he neared Damascus… a light from heaven flashed around him… ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”

Observation Questions

In Acts 1:8, what specific role does Jesus give his disciples, and how does it connect to the idea of a journey?
What immediate action does Jesus demand of Saul in Acts 9:6, and what does he withhold telling him?
According to the sermon, why did the disciples stay in Jerusalem for years despite Jesus’ commission? [42:27]

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus have chosen to reveal only the next step to Saul (“go into the city”) rather than his entire mission upfront?
How does persecution in Acts 8-9 paradoxically advance the spread of the Gospel, and what does this suggest about God’s methods?
The sermon says, “Answers often trail obedience by a few miles.” How does Saul’s story illustrate this principle? [46:46]

Application Questions

What “next step” of obedience have you been hesitant to take because you don’t see the full picture? What would it look like to act on it this week?
Where have you tried to control outcomes (e.g., relationships, work, ministry) instead of trusting God with the results? What would surrender look like in that area? [56:02]
Saul’s testimony began with sharing what he personally experienced: “I encountered Jesus.” What specific moment, answered prayer, or change in your life could you share as a simple witness this week? [54:34]
The sermon compares faith to switching paths rather than jumping a cliff. What small, daily habit (e.g., prayer, gratitude, serving) could help you “change paths” this month?
When have you delayed starting a spiritual journey because you felt unprepared? What one action could you take today to move from waiting to walking? [59:42]

Sermon Clips

50s

#PurposeOverDestination

“And along with that, a principle that we're gonna run across when it comes to any journey, but in particular, a principle that I think is so relevant when it comes to the journey of faith, and I'm not gonna bury the lead here. Here's the principle. What we're called to do is more important than where we're called to go. What we are called as people of faith to do, the invitation from Jesus to go into the world and do is far more is about the doing and what's gonna happen along the way and the ways God is gonna reveal himself and meet us along the way, it is far more about that than it will ever be about the destination.”

57s

#ObeyAndTrust

“And then we add God into the mix, and you're like, okay. Well, then the way this should work is is if I just pray and tell God what I need to happen, then he puts a stamp on it, and it moves into the execution line. Right? Anyone who's been on this journey for a while knows that ain't how it happens. And instead, the way this works is we get to obey God. We get to decide, I'm moving this direction. I'm trusting you. I'm learning to trust you, and I'm gonna do the things you ask me, but then the outcomes are entirely up to you. Where this goes and how this plays out is out of my hands. All I can do all I can do is the next thing that you have asked me to do. Obey God and trust him with the outcomes.”

58s

#CuriousAboutJesus

“It starts with the desire to say, I am curious enough to know what this is all about. I am curious enough to know that if God, who you say became and walked among us, and when he could have done anything and he could have saved himself and he could have changed the whole narrative, He allowed himself to be taken to a cross to die for us, and then he came back to life, and a bunch of people saw it. I am curious enough. And now I'm watching these people who are willing to be stoned to death like Stephen, that was the last person Saul directly got to oversee the persecution before he had this encounter. If there are people that are so convinced because of what they've seen and experienced, I would like to know more. This is worth investigating.”

42s

#ObeyBeforeAnswers

“Saul was asked to obey first. And too many times, we wanna understand everything and have all of the answers before we take a first step of faith. And any of y'all been there? Maybe you're there right now. Maybe you're you're here in church and still trying to figure out if any of this makes sense to you, and that's good. This is a good place to be in this space to ask those questions. But I wanna go ahead and and give you the assurance that none of us have figured it all out. None of us. There are some of us in this room who have been following Jesus for decades, and if anything, I have more questions than when I started.”

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