Charlotte’s Hope Church
Saul’s Conversion
Acts 9:1-9 NIV
Acts 9:10-19 NIV
Four Signs of the Holy Spirit’s work in Conversion:
1. Recognize that God has been pursuing you.
Acts 26:14 NIV
Four Signs of the Holy Spirit’s work in Conversion:
2. Recognize that you have been spiritually blind.
IRRELIGIOUS blindness:
You believe that your way is better than God’s, or you don’t need God. So you pursue what the Bible calls “sin.”
RELIGIOUS blindness.
You think you can be good enough to earn God’s approval; that if you just try hard and keep the rules good enough then God will accept you.
Before Conversion, we are all Spiritually Dead which leads us to worship everything but God; and Spiritually Uncovered which causes us to attempt to cover and guilt and shame through good works or increasing sin.
Our blindness is lifted when we are exposed to the Gospel.
A gift of grace. Jesus Christ dying in our place, paying the penalty for our sin, clothing us in his righteousness, giving us in his resurrection the power of new life and a new heart.
GRACE: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Spiritual Sight led Saul (Paul) to experience:
A sense of Wonder instead of Entitlement.
Transparency instead of Hypocrisy
Graciousness and Generosity instead of Hatred and Pride
Four Signs of the Holy Spirit’s work in Conversion:
3. Your past does not disqualify you from God’s Grace.
Four Signs of the Holy Spirit’s work in Conversion:
4. Your past does not disqualify you from future ministry.
Acts 9:15 NIV
The fountain of the Christian life is the experience of grace. You never move on from it! You keep coming back here.
You don’t grow as a Christian by moving on from the Gospel, but by constantly going deeper into it.