Transformation

Acts 9:1-19
[Rev. VM Mathew]

Transformation is a 2-way process.

1. God’s help
2. Our desire to change or our response.
   

God’s grace is not all. So if we haven’t transformed, it’s because we haven’t responded to God.

This passage talks of the transformation of Saul to Paul.

First a confrontation happens. He was a enthusiast about his beliefs. The transformations that happened.

1. Change in understanding – He realized what he was doing was not for God. Each person has a different understanding of God. But God says, “I am what I am”. This means you can’t understand Him. He is beyond comprehension. But our understanding is very partial about God. We try to limit God in our own wisdom. When we say something about him, it is our understanding of Him, not actually what He is. We make judgments about people that we think God has made. It is left to God to judge.
2. Change in his attitude – He came to Damascus with an attitude of hatred towards Christians. It changed to a feeling of brotherhood towards all. Jesus’ attitude to all was good.
   - He loved His parents and worked with them.
   - He loved His heavenly father and answered His call.
   - His attitude towards women at a time when women were oppressed.
   - He loved even the lepers and other downtrodden people.
   Jesus’ attitude can be summed up in one word – GIVE.
   
3. Change in dependency – He came to Damascus with dependency on his own wisdom and knowledge. A self-dependent person becomes a child. He was led by other people. He was dependent on those people. We should allow God to lead us.
4. Change in direction – He came with a specific purpose and direction. But he took a U-turn. We claim to have transformed, but still continue on the same road.
5. Change in content – He was carrying letters to persecute when he set out to Damascus. He entered Damascus carrying Jesus (v15). We claim to be believers, but we don’t carry Jesus with us.