I have read Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 many times. However, I had never encountered such realism in his spiritual transformation until I found this video (1). It’s a full 15 minutes. Please take the time to view it in full.
My comment follows.
Sometimes I walk through my Christian life in a daze, bumping into people and mindlessly saying “excuse me” before some calamity finally hits me on the head. Or maybe a family chaotic frenzy pulls me out of it. It is difficult for the word of God to spring from our souls with joy and thanksgiving. We are burdened by the cares of this world and tend to take our freedom in Christ for granted. Our lives sometimes resemble a robotic assembly line: it gets up, performs tasks, eats on the go, watches TV, and then rushes to bed as if it’s just one more thing to check off our to-do list. . Meanwhile, our eyes are veiled from spiritual reality. God’s presence is felt only on Sunday mornings (provided the preacher yells loud enough to keep us awake), at the bedside of dying loved ones, and when near-death experiences remind us that we really are. there is someone up there.
This man’s conversion in the video reminds me that God is alive and active. As I grope in my mist, God moves across the land and assures that his word will not return to him empty.
Remember Colton Burpo, the four-year-old boy who saw the sky and described to his father everything he had seen and heard. Or maybe you remember young Akiane Kramarik, the four-year-old girl who also saw the sky and came back from her dream state and started painting. I hesitate to speculate on Burpo or Kramarik and the circumstances by which they came to meet heaven and Jesus. I’ll let the skeptics run that debate.
However, this video moved me in a way that the story of Colton Burpo and Akiane Kramarik could not. Maybe it’s because I’ve been exposed to God’s word for so long that I easily tied it to Saul’s conversion. Or maybe it’s because out of this man’s conversion came a spiritual transformation more miraculous than a painting or a child confirming that heaven is real.
Muslim culture is difficult for us to understand. As we soak up news about suicide bombings, we cannot imagine that God would change someone who does such things to follow him. Our perceptions are fostered by the stubborn who present themselves as representatives of the Muslim faith. As you and I know, not all Muslims are violent.
As I watch this man openly share his encounter with Jesus Christ and profess his faith, I discover that it is no small matter. This is huge! Like Saul of Tarsus, he risks being assassinated. If caught, enemies could hang his body in an open market as a warning that Christianity will not be tolerated. Much worse, if he is killed, he will be prohibited from spreading the word of God to his people.
When you and I think of going on a mission trip, we don’t think of Gaza, Iran, Libya, Iraq, or Syria. I think of Africa, not because I am African-American, but because that is what is constantly on my television screen. But through this man’s powerful testimony, I am deeply reminded that the most marginalized, dangerous, vicious, and violent sinners can and will be brought to Jesus. There are no borders that God cannot cross. There are no cultures that he cannot reconcile. There is no storm that cannot calm. There is no language you cannot speak. There is no one I cannot forgive. There is no tool that he cannot use. There is no hate that cannot melt. There is no confusion that it cannot alleviate. There is no guilt that cannot be erased. There is no heart that cannot be repaired. There is no soul that cannot protect against a fall.
Most of us don’t know a real Saul. We can preach the story of Saul, but can we relate to it? Most of us have never murdered. We have never persecuted anyone or put them in jail. We have not, and probably never would, seek authority to persecute and persecute the church. Saul was all of this. He stood tall in the face of what he deemed fair and boldly pointed at the church and anyone else who got in the way.
However, God used him.
You can’t fabricate a story like this. It is not a fairy tale. It is not a paper doll from a story to be spread out on the floor or on a table while we ponder how to dress her. None of us possess that kind of spiritual depth. Throughout biblical history, God has used the most unlikely characters to bring forth his word.
- Mary, a single teenager; subject of a possible scandal. The risk if it had not been God’s will: stoned to death.
- Moses, a mute Jew who was separated from his people to live the good life of an Egyptian. An object to be rejected by the very people he was sent to save. The risk if it had not been the will of God – killed by Pharaoh.
- Peter, a disciple who swore he would never leave Jesus, but he did. The risk had it not been God’s will: If Jesus had not appeared and included Peter in the great commission, Peter could have ended up a bitter and angry man.
- Various women throughout the New Testament, many unnamed, who ministered to the apostles. During the time of Jesus, women were considered second-class citizens, with almost no status or authority. They could not own property. The risk if it had not been the will of God – continuation of the oppression of women.
So when God moves through the earth and decides to walk into a stranger’s prison cell and reveal himself, what am I going to do with it? Doubt? Do you think he is a disguise for profit? I do not think. But I can relate to the skeptics. I remember how the believers reacted to Saul’s conversion. They were scared. Apprehensive.
Read with me:
“…Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. Immediately he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All who heard him were amazed and asked: ‘Is not this the man who rose from the dead? havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And has he not come here to arrest the chief priests?'” (Acts 9:19-21)
Should we be surprised that some doubt this man’s account? They were afraid. Smiling, but not trusting. Or should we look away from the messenger to the message? Just as Christ appointed Saul to become a disciple of the Gentiles, is he not also proclaiming this man in the video to become a messenger for the Muslims, Hamas, Hezbollah? What better tool to bring the word of God to a lost and violent world than one of their own?
“Because the word of God is living and effective. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
God has chosen this man to preach the gospel, appearing to him in the same way that he appeared to Saul many years ago.
Surprised?
If God has reserved a remnant of his people for himself, wouldn’t it make sense for someone to preach in the Middle East and they obey? How can they obey unless they hear the message?
“Although the number of the Israelites is like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on the land quickly and firmly.” It is just as Isaiah said before: ‘If the Lord Almighty had not left us offspring, we would be like Sodom, we would be like Gomorrah.'” (Romans 9:27-29)
“Consequently, faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
If God has judged this man and deemed him fit to speak throughout the Middle East, who are we to judge? If God does not send him, who will go? Me? You? Your children? Who?
The power and love of God overwhelms me. I am weak in the midst of his kindness and moved by his compassion to reach those we consider unreachable. He keeps using the most unlikely candidates for his glory.
Whether you believe this man’s story or not, he is likely being persecuted by the kingdom of God or for being an impostor. Either way, he is likely to die. He will scream for help. You and I will promise to be by his side. (If and when he does, I pray we don’t let him down.) His own people will hate him. Some Americans will hate it; distrust him; keep it under close scrutiny. He will end up running away, maybe. Maybe he, too, will be shipwrecked, go hungry, and work menial jobs so he can eat. But whatever form of hardship he endures, he will do it out of love for Jesus Christ.
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had kept.” (Revelation 6:9)
In the end, I hope this man says:
“I have fought the battle, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now the crown of justice is reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only for me, but also for all those who have waited for his coming.” (II Timothy 4:7-8)
Can-
Will you hide his word in your heart so that you do not sin against him? (Psalms 119:11 – paraphrased verse)
You want-
“… stand firm in the hope we profess, for faithful is he who promised.” (Hebrews 10:23)
“Because no word of God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37)
(1) To watch this video, go to YouTube.com and search “Iranian Muslim ex-Hezbollah saw Jesus and Jesus said who he was – Afshin Javid”
