You see this week I heard things about others that I care about and it really really disturbed me. I heard these things come out of a man who is or was a deacon at the church Angie and I attended for several years, It honestly hurt me to hear these things for a couple of reasons. A) here is a man that is or was a leader in the church and he is talking about another member of the church, and doing it in a very public enviroment. B) if the accusation were true it meant that a family needed a lot of prayer and encouragement and the church had let them down in a very large way and C) if they weren't true then this "leader" of the church was spreading nothing more than idle gossip. So we have a complete strike out anyway you look at it, which means that the church loses no matter what is true or not. his got me to thinking, what if the accusations were true, how would d I react? Would I condemn the individual that that was being talked about, or would I pray for their restoration and then reach out to them, what would I do? So I looked to the word of God for an answer and this blog is the result of that.
When we look to Gods word we see many a men that have made mistakes and God has given them a second chance. We see King David. We see Peter. We see father Abraham. These are just three examples of Godly men that even thought they made mistakes and went against God in some form or fashion, God restored them, and they were greater men than before in my opinion. God did this through his transforming power. You see when a man or woman has an encounter with God, whether it be in a church at an altar of prayer, their bedroom in the middle of the storm or out in a public worship setting, no matter where it is, God's transforming power is amazing. One man we can look at and see the miraculous transforming power of the gospel in is Saul of Tarsus. Now some of you, maybe new converts are going who, but for you older Christians you know who I am talking about. You see Saul of tarsus became knows as the Apostle Paul . The Book of Acts gives us a look at Saul in chapter 7 as a young man at the stoning death of Stephen who was basically guarding the coats of the witnesses of Stephens stoning. But in Acts 8 we see the real Saul. In verses 1-3 Luke writes "And Saul was there, giving approval to his (Stephens) death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison."Then over in chapter 9 we learn that "Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lords disciples." He even went so far as to go to the high priest and ask them for permission to go to Damascus to look for "Christians" there and put them in jail, no matter if they were men or women. I don't know about you but this is a mans that is I saw him coming around the corner, I would go and hide. He was a Christians worst nightmare. Here was a man that basically had a hunting license to bag and tag Christians. He had the full approval of the high priests, to go out and rid the world of "Christians." Now that would never happen today would it? Saul was probably one of those men that would curse you, beat you and tell you that it was for your own good that he was doing it. I don't think Saul would be a man that I would want to get to know. Today we have men and women like this around every corner. We have men who think it's funny to beat a woman or a child, or to do much worse than that.
Then something drastic happens in Verse 3 of Acts chapter 9. you see "as he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from Heaven flashed around him." Now i want to stop right there and ask you. How many times have you been in your home or car or a building and out of nowhere "BAM" a streak of lightning and a loud, house shaking clap of thunder come out of nowhere and scare the living daylights out of you. Well when reading this I imagine Saul walking down the road and one of those flashes of lightning that lights up the sky for miles around, and one of those claps of thunder that will shake the walls of building for 2 or 3 miles, hits and scares the living daylight out of Saul. Verse 4 then says that Saul "fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?'. Now I don't know about you but after a flash of lightning and clap of thunder that rattles the walls, I hear a voice calling my name, then I am probably going to need a clean pair of shorts But Saul, asks the most important question a sinner could ask "Who are you Lord." the one question that will change lives when answered. This question brings about the transforming power of Jesus Christ and allows us to learn exactly who our Lord and Saviour is, for you see when you ask this question, he will respond the same way, "I AM JESUS". Those words were the beginning of a transformation of a man from basically being the left hand of the Devil to being a child of the living God. A man who just experienced a life altering event that would take him on a journey into eternity with God. A journey that would lead to his name being changed to PAUL. An experience that have him totally immersed in the transforming power of God. A man who will never be the same again, no matter which fork in the road he chooses. Why do I say that, because once you experience Jesus there are only two ways you can go. You can run to the one who died upon the cross to take away your sins , or you can run towards the devil, and become a lost soul headed for a fiery eternal home. But know this if we ever take our eyes off of the prize, we then became as Saul was after the Lord spoke to him, blind. Blind to everything the Lord has to offer and in need of a healing that allows us to see the glory of the Lord and what he has done for us (Acts 9:7-19)
You see today in our churches we have many who have taken their eyes off the prize and they now have the scales of blindness upon their eyes. These who are in this shape have forgotten what it means to be a child of the King. These are those who commit adultery. These are the ones who gossip within the church. These may even be those who suffer from a life that is filled with sin and what they need is for the Lightning to flash and the they need the voice of God to speak to them. They need that transforming experience in their lives so that they can get away from that life of Sin. So they can quit having those thoughts of murder. So they can be free of the sin of sexuality and become a normal healthy child of the King. So they can become one with the saviour and they can win souls for the Kingdom. You see it's not the homosexual that God does not like, It's the sin of homosexuality that God cannot stand. It's not the man that God despises, it's the sin he carries within himself that God despises.Those in the church who spread gossip. Those in the church who back talk and back bite the members and pastor. Those in the church who feel it their job to inform everyone of what their fellow brother /sister are up to. Those members of the body of Christ that don't seem to be happy if there is not some form of dissension in the church, those are the ones who need to remember their Road to Damascus experience and get back to where they once were. I am no angel and I do not claim to be perfect, but I do know this. As Philippians 3:14 says "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus". I press towards the prize, which is eternal life in Heaven with Christ and the father. I will make mistakes but I am so thankful that "he who began a good work in me, will be faithful to complete it."(Philippians 1:6).
I pray that those in the church who have forgotten what it feels like to be on the road to Damascus and have that experience with Christ, will see the flash, hear the thunder and once again fall at the feet of Jesus, and ask that life altering question "who are you Lord".
God bless you all who read this and may the Lord bless you daily. Pray for those in your church who have taken their eyes off the prize, and then pray that you might be able to reach out to them and help. For just as Saul had that life altering, name changing experience with Christ on the road to Damascus you can also have that Damascus experience right there where you are reading this.
Lord, I pray that this night, the word of God would come forth and manifest itself in the church and it's members. Lord that the body of Christ would have that road to Damascus experience and that it would cause us to change how we look not just at those who are lost, but that it would help us to remember those within the walls of the church that need ministering to as well. Bless all who read this and strengthen them Lord. Amen
In Christ's Love,
Bro. Bill Roy
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