This is our fourth and final sermon in our series called Moving Forward.

We have agreed that if you say you want a change but refuse to do anything different, you are only fooling yourself. So, this year we are making a real effort to do life differently by dropping the weights and breaking the cycles that stop us from going deeper into a spiritual life of power, blessings and great anointing.

I believe one of the greatest areas of difficulty we face as believers
is struggling to make a greater commitment to God. We are happy to accept Him, but letting Him be Lord over our life is a different story altogether.
To be clear, we are sacrificing His power because we don’t want to adopt the true lifestyle of a Christian. We are happy to fight off attacks from every source, but it seems the biggest enemy is actually ourselves.
We are actually aiding the devil in keeping us weak. We have convinced ourselves that the sacrifice of God’s standard in our everyday lives is not worth the access to His power. Or perhaps we are just unaware of the everyday steps we need to take to make a greater commitment and gain that access.

So ask yourself: whose side are you on?

The conversion of Saul (Paul) is one for the books. He had a made-up mind to be a destroyer of the emerging church and anyone who was willing to follow Jesus. He was a real enemy of God.

Acts 9:1-2

Acts 3:8

Saul’s encounter with God on the road to Damascus is proof of a few things:
1. One encounter with Jesus is enough to change us for life.
2. Jesus can change anyone. Even someone who is an enemy into a great instrument of the kingdom.
3. Jesus is better at saving than we are at sinning.
4, It’s never too late and we can all still be used.

Acts 9:9

The three days of isolation from the distractions of this world are a benefit to Saul’s development. Setting time aside to just hear from God is a powerful tool to having a deeper relationship with God.

If you want to have a deeper relationship with God in 2022, don’t make Him compete for your attention. Give it voluntarily.
Acts 10-18

God sent a believer named Ananias to pray for Saul to restore his sight and fill him with the Holy Spirit. Since there was a new resident in Saul’s tabernacle, he got a different creature.

2 Corinthians 5:17

When we have the Holy Spirit, it gives us the power to get up differently.
This year when you meet opposition, remember that you have the power of the Holy Spirit in you to overcome any obstacle and get up stronger.

Where God dwells, His power will manifest.

The presence of the Holy Spirit elevates our thoughts above the physical nature of man. This is why it is hard for others to understand our behavior.

Saul was baptized right away. He instantly began to do everything to identify with Christ. His baptism was an outward expression of his inward belief.

Acts 9:19-20

How Long did it take Saul to go forth and preach the gospel?

Although Saul was new to the faith and there were certainly others who had more experience than him, he moved forward into his charge right away.

Don’t wait for a man to authorize what God has already sanctioned in you.

The order to spread the gospel of Christ has already been given. God’s word is the only word that matters. We are all qualified to tell of His goodness.

Matthew 28:19-20

If Jesus said go, what are you waiting for?

Acts 9:21-22

What “they say” about you will always be overruled by what God said about you.

So many of us have been saved for years but don’t have the impact Saul had in the first few days of his conversion. Perhaps we don’t understand the actions we need to take to become more powerful.

When Saul accepted Christ, he was instantly justified by his faith.

Acts 13:39

This justification frees us from the penalty of sin.

Romans 6:23

Though this is a great victory for us, this is only step one in our journey to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. Unfortunately, many of us stop right there because the next step to growing deeper in Christ requires us to sacrifice!

We must sacrifice to live a sanctified life.

Justified is our position but sanctified is our faithful lifestyle practice. Like Saul, your behavior confirms what you actually believe.

What does your behavior say about what you believe?

Like Saul, you’ve got to test the faith you’ve received. It’s the evidence of your belief and connects us to the power of God.

Hebrews 11:6

Acts 9:22 says Saul was proving that Jesus is the Messiah. What was Saul’s proof that Jesus was actually the redeemer?

Saul was the actual evidence of what the power of Jesus could do. His actions were the visual confirmation of Jesus’ transformative power on life.

If we want to walk deeper in the power of Christ we have to become more than justified. We have to be actual do-ers of what we say we believe. It’s in the application of the word that our faith grows. This activity should naturally lead us into sanctification.

God’s living word leads us to more dedicated lives unto Him. It should be obvious and evident in our everyday lives what we believe. This devotion increases our power, faith and Anointing! It is the external P.R.O.O.F. of our change. P.R.O.O.F: Powerful, Renovation, Over, Our, Future

We should all be practicing our faith. Are you practicing?
Being sanctified saves us from the power of sin over our everyday life.

If we are going to follow the word of God, we will have to make some real sacrifices in our behavior. Even Jesus laid down His will for God’s.

Luke 22:42

This commitment to Godly living in all areas of our life allows us to break free from any strongholds the enemy may try to set up to cause us to stumble or minimize the power we possess.

Saul did some things that actually accelerated his belief in Christ. Let’s see how our commitment measures up to His lifestyle change.

Acts 9:19 said Saul spent time with the disciples:

Do you frequently commune with a community of believers?

If you want to have a deeper relationship with God in 2022, you should make a greater effort to spend your time in the presence of those who help you grow spiritually.

You may be surprised, but most of our time is spent in environments that bring us into temptation not sanctification.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Pray that God sends some accountability partners into your life that will help you fulfill a deeper walk with God.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Acts 9:20 says Saul went preaching in public!

When is the last time you publicly proclaim Christ in your life?

Many of us are still closet Christians. This year, if we want to operate in greater power, we need to be bold enough to identify with Christ anywhere.

Matthew 5:14-16
Your external proclamation brings God’s glory and is your own proof of the transforming power of God in your life. You never know who may be inspired by the change in your life.

Be careful of caring more about what man thinks than God. Jesus’ approval is far more important.

Luke 9:26

Jude 24

Acts 9:22 says Saul grew more and more powerful.

Don’t you want to be more powerful, too? If so, Saul said all we had to do is follow his example.

Timothy 1:16

Everything Saul did on the outside, was a reaction to who resided on the inside.

Ephesians 3:16-18

Ephesians 3:17

This word dwell does not simply mean exist-in, it means live-in as in ownership.

Ephesians 3:18

If you want to grasp how deep and intimate God’s love is, you can not do it without the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Once you invite Him in, you have to be willing to give Him full access to your sanctuary. Even to the hidden parts that hold us back from walking in the fullness of the blessings of the Lord.

Do you give God full access?

Ephesians 3:19

Does the world see God in your life?

God sanctification confirms who owns the temple.

Romans 12:1

Every season of God has something new to surrender. Each stage a deeper walk into intimacy with the spirit of God in us. Saul gave it all from the onset!

What are you willing to sacrifice in this season?

Pastor Adrian Scott Woodard