On Sunday morning, August 15, I preached from Acts 9:1-19, that stunning record of Saul’s conversion from enemy to lover of Christ. When Jesus appeared to Saul as he traveled to carry out systematic persecution of believers in Damascus, “suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him” and he fell to the ground! A light…Saul was in spiritual darkness and blind, and the Light invaded his life! Don’t you just love that? Join me in giving praise to the Lord for piercing the darkness of sin and death in us and being our Light!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).
The Lord Jesus Christ “is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in approachable light…” (1 Timothy 6:16.)
I love the message you preached Pastor Carey because it is so encouraging to me. When I think about my husband,son and others who are still enemies of God due to their lack of faith in Christ Jesus for salvation! I cannot help but get encouraged because I also was such a sinner who was saved by grace and not by works! Jesus is the light of "my world" and I follow Him alone by faith alone. I am filled with His joy and it is because of my salvation! May I thank you again Pastor Carey for gleening from the texts in the Bible and preaching the strong word of God? Listening to your sermons provide sound preaching to point me to continues faith in Christ in order to deepen my awareness for God's grace to be made evident again and again every day until I see His glorious face !
ReplyDeletePeople to often us the phrase "he saw the light" to simply mean someone understood a new concept. Paul was miraculously converted and his old heart of stone replaced by a Spirit filled heart. Only that heart could "see the light" for what it was!! Saving faith is indeed "a gift of God, lest anyone should boast!"
ReplyDeleteGreat sermon series - preach on!!!