Don’t Give Up
No One Is Beyond God’s Reach
SCRIPTURE:
Acts 9:20-21 NLT - And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is indeed the Son of God!" All who heard him were amazed. "Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?"
OBSERVATION:
Acts chapter 9 offers us a powerful lesson in perseverance, hope, and the truth that what is impossible for man is possible for God.
Saul was on a mission to stop the early church single-handedly. The movement had grown rapidly, freeing many from religious bondage. Believers were called The Way—the very words Jesus used to describe Himself:
John 14:6 NLT - …"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
But then everything changed. Saul encountered Jesus.
Acts 9:1-2 NLT - Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them--both men and women--back to Jerusalem in chains.
Yet something happened. Something that can only be explained as a “God thing.” Saul is saved!
Acts 9:4-5 NLT - He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
Acts 9:20-21 NLT - And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is indeed the Son of God!" All who heard him were amazed. "Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?"
OBSERVATION:
Acts chapter 9 offers us a powerful lesson in perseverance, hope, and the truth that what is impossible for man is possible for God.
Saul was on a mission to stop the early church single-handedly. The movement had grown rapidly, freeing many from religious bondage. Believers were called The Way—the very words Jesus used to describe Himself:
John 14:6 NLT - …"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
But then everything changed. Saul encountered Jesus.
Acts 9:1-2 NLT - Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them--both men and women--back to Jerusalem in chains.
Yet something happened. Something that can only be explained as a “God thing.” Saul is saved!
Acts 9:4-5 NLT - He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
It is significant in so short a book, attempting to cover the expansion of Christianity from its small beginnings in Jerusalem to a religion that filled the whole empire, that the tale of one man’s conversion should be so greatly emphasized. – James Montgomery Boice
Why such emphasis? To show that no one is beyond God’s reach.
APPLICATION:
Who comes to mind when you think of someone “too far gone”? A mocker, an atheist, or a persecutor? If we’re honest, the first person we should think of is ourselves. We were undeserving, yet God’s mercy found us.
Ananias and others struggled to believe Saul could be saved:
Acts 9:13, 21 NLT - "But Lord," exclaimed Ananias, "I've heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! ... All who heard him were amazed. "Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?"
Even the “hopelessly lost” can see the light. Saul did!
I have often wondered—though it can’t be historically proven—whether the church was praying for Saul to “see the light” and to encounter the saving grace of Jesus Christ. While we may never know for certain, it serves as a powerful reminder that prayer works.
Conversations with those adamantly opposed to Jesus may not always seem fruitful, but prayer remains our greatest tool. Through prayer, we invite the Holy Spirit to work in their lives—to soften hardened hearts, open blinded eyes, and help those living in darkness see the truth, just as with Saul.
God can reach even the hardest hearts.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “God is the pursuer.” God’s grace relentlessly follows the lost, never tiring, never giving up. Francis Thompson called Him “The Hound of Heaven,” describing His chase as “unhurrying, unperturbed, deliberate, majestic.” C.S. Lewis said he was pursued by God “kicking and screaming.”
The Sauls in our lives need people who won’t stop praying—people who believe God still pursues, saves, and transforms.
Don’t give up. No one thought Saul could be saved—Jesus did it!
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for pursuing me with mercy and grace. Thank You for never giving up on me. Save those who are running from You. Open their eyes to Your light, as You did for Saul. Teach me to keep praying and never lose hope, for nothing is impossible with You.
APPLICATION:
Who comes to mind when you think of someone “too far gone”? A mocker, an atheist, or a persecutor? If we’re honest, the first person we should think of is ourselves. We were undeserving, yet God’s mercy found us.
Ananias and others struggled to believe Saul could be saved:
Acts 9:13, 21 NLT - "But Lord," exclaimed Ananias, "I've heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! ... All who heard him were amazed. "Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?"
Even the “hopelessly lost” can see the light. Saul did!
I have often wondered—though it can’t be historically proven—whether the church was praying for Saul to “see the light” and to encounter the saving grace of Jesus Christ. While we may never know for certain, it serves as a powerful reminder that prayer works.
Conversations with those adamantly opposed to Jesus may not always seem fruitful, but prayer remains our greatest tool. Through prayer, we invite the Holy Spirit to work in their lives—to soften hardened hearts, open blinded eyes, and help those living in darkness see the truth, just as with Saul.
God can reach even the hardest hearts.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “God is the pursuer.” God’s grace relentlessly follows the lost, never tiring, never giving up. Francis Thompson called Him “The Hound of Heaven,” describing His chase as “unhurrying, unperturbed, deliberate, majestic.” C.S. Lewis said he was pursued by God “kicking and screaming.”
The Sauls in our lives need people who won’t stop praying—people who believe God still pursues, saves, and transforms.
Don’t give up. No one thought Saul could be saved—Jesus did it!
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for pursuing me with mercy and grace. Thank You for never giving up on me. Save those who are running from You. Open their eyes to Your light, as You did for Saul. Teach me to keep praying and never lose hope, for nothing is impossible with You.
No one is beyond God’s reach—so never stop praying, believing, or hoping.
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