Our Podcast

How to Live a Transformed Life Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on How to Live a Transformed Life Part 1. He will be reading out of Acts 9:1-31.

You want to live a transformed life in this world. You want to make a difference. You want to impact your family. You want to impact your children. I cannot stress enough to you that you need to be a person who is fervent in prayer.

Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders and you are listening to Hope Worth Having Radio Program. And today we are going to be back in the book of Acts, chapter nine, we’re covering verses one through thirty -one, how to live a transformed life.

There’s no greater study than the study of the life of the apostle, Paul particularly. And here we’re introduced how he came to Christ, a man who was a persecutor, became a follower of Jesus Christ. So I want you to join me as we study together.

You have your Bible this morning. I want you to join me in Acts, chapter nine is where we’re going to be at this morning, Acts, chapter nine. And let me just say this as you’re turning there, that’s the key that if we would exalt Jesus Christ in our own lives and we would exalt Him in this nation, then God would heal this land and God would bless this country.

We are in the midst of tumultuous times and very difficult for us to process all that we are witnessing the protective hand of God being pulled back across this country because of a people who have rejected Jesus Christ and have not kept Him first and we have turned to our own ways and we have sought our own desires rather than seeking Jesus Christ.

But we must see it continually, church, as a wake -up call. for us as the family of God, for us as a nation to turn back to God and to make him a priority in our life. And he cannot just be a part of our schedule and it cannot be that just we throw in God whenever it fits or we feel comfortable with it but we must be fully surrendered to him and he must be number one in our life.

The Scriptures teach us that he is preeminent. He is the preeminent God. That means that he’s number one. He is first place in our hearts. The hope of America is not going to come from the government but it is going to come through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we are walking in these days, days of difficulties, days of so many changes. that it makes us feel so unstable and insecure in our lives and we wonder and question what might the future be for not only us but for our children and for our grandchildren.

It is essential that we be firm, that we be strong, that we be courageous in these times, and that we stand strong for the Lord Jesus Christ. When we come to Acts chapter 9, what we are witnessing is the transformation of a man whose name is Saul.

He is transformed from a man named Saul who denied God, who hated Christianity, wanted nothing to do with Jesus Christ, and did everything he could to destroy the church to being transformed into a man who would become an apostle for God.

His name would change from Saul to Paul and he would become a great leader in the kingdom of Christ. It reminds me of the story that I read a while back about a gentle pastor from South Korea. His name was Kim Shin -jo and he was a trained killer.

In January of 1968, Joe and a team of assassins descended from North Korea slipping through the woods into a daring attempt to kill the president of South Korea. The team of 31 commandos made it to within a few hundred meters of the president’s residence before they were intercepted.

A fierce battle ensued, killing 30 South Koreans. All of the North Korean soldiers were killed except one escaped and Kim Shin -jo who was captured. After months of interrogation and through a surprising friendship with a South Korean army general, Kim Shin -jo’s hard heart started to soften.

Later, he would confess, I tried to kill the president. I was the enemy, but the South Korean people showed me sympathy and forgiveness. I was touched and moved. The South Korean government eventually released Kim Shin -jo.

Over the next three decades, he worked for the military, became a citizen, and then married and raised a family. Finally, he became a minister of the gospel. Today, Joe’s life serves as a symbol of redemption for the entire country of South Korea.

Reflecting on the day of his arrest, Kim Shin -jo commented that on that day, Kim Shin -jo died. I was reborn. I got my second chance and I’m thankful for that. Kim Shin -jo found new birth and God’s grace through the power of Christ, but his encounter with Christ came through the unexpected and surprising love of other people.

Despite his betrayal and sins, an army officer accepted him and befriended him and believed in him. At one time, he was the enemy of the South Korean people, but in the spirit of Jesus Christ, they surprised him with the startling gift of belonging, forgiveness, and even citizenship.

In the same way, the church is called to extend the gift of acceptance to others that we find, that we are to give second chances and that we are called to unleash the power of God’s goodness and grace upon the people that we interact with, even those people who are difficult and unlovable, even our enemies, we are called to show unconditional love and forgiveness.

Here we see in this life of this man, Kim Shin -jo, an amazing transformation that took place from an enemy to a friend, from a man who did not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to one who would become a minister of the gospel.

It encapsules all that we learn about a man named Saul, Saul of Tarsus. The Bible tells us in verse 1 that Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way, meaning the way of Christ, whether men or women, that he He might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

As he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said to me, who are you, Lord?

Then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goats. So he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do? Then the Lord said to him, arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.

What we see in chapter nine of the book of Acts is a man whose life is transformed. And I believe that living a transformed life is essential to helping this country come back to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I think it’s critical for you and I to understand that each of us are called to live a transformed life. We’re not to sink into apathy. We’re not to just kind of take life and really not be effective for the Lord, but rather we are to be, as we said already, to be courageous and bold for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And how we live says a lot about our hearts and who we are within. And as people observe our life, I am convinced that they will want to know the answer to the question of what is the hope that is in your heart?

While so many are in despair and discouragement and frustrated about the circumstances of life, you and I are called to be a people of joy and hope and courage. So how is it that we can live a transformed life?

I want us to look at the Apostle Paul, who was known as Saul of Tarsus before his conversion to Christ and see how we can live a transformed life. If you’re taking notes, the first thing is that you must have faith in the Savior.

You must have faith in Jesus Christ. We see that unfolding in verses one through nine. We just read to you verses one through six, but here Saul has contact with the Savior. And as he is on the path to attack the church and to bound people into prison, we find that God struck Saul to the ground, knocked him off his high horse.

And Saul had a personal encounter with the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. He heard a voice and he saw a face. He saw a light. He saw the glory of God. Saul of Tarsus’ miraculous encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road brought about one of the most remarkable trials.

transformations ever recorded in the scriptures. We see in verse four that Saul is convicted by God. The Bible says he fell to the ground and he heard the voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

He said, who are you, Lord? And then the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goat. Some of the newer translations don’t have that phrase, but I did look it up, it is in the Greek manuscript, and the word goads means simply this.

It was a stick that the farmers would use to prod or poke the animals as they were plowing the fields. And oftentimes it had a point on the end and the animal, the ox, or the animal didn’t like it and they would kick against that stick.

And they would try to prevent that farmer from goading them, if you will, or trying to pick or prick them. And so that is what the Bible is telling us. is that here, the apostle, here Saul, who would later become an apostle, is being convicted by God, and God is trying to get his attention, and God is trying to bring him to that moment of humility to where he would receive Jesus Christ as his savior.

We see immediately that Saul is recognizing that someone of a higher power, even though he does not know who it is, is truly the Lord, because he says in verse five, who are you, Lord? Jesus reveals himself and says, I am Jesus who you are persecuting.

This conversion of Saul coming to Christ is quite remarkable, because here we see someone who is fighting the church, who would soon become someone who is following Jesus Christ, and we must understand that the first step in our transformation, the first step in us making an impact upon our society, upon our families, and upon everyone that we come in contact with is that we must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible teaches us that when we come to Christ, that we are new creations. We are new creations, new creatures. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new.

What I want you to know this morning is that if your faith is authentic, if your faith is real, that there is a process that is going on in your life, and that is that the old is shedding, the old is passing away.

All those old philosophies, those old attitudes, those old behaviors, those old perspectives are all passing away, and you areā€¦ now becoming this new person in the Lord Jesus Christ instantly when you put your faith in Christ you stand before Christ as a righteous person not because you are righteous not because you’ve accomplished great good deeds in this world but because of what Christ did for you on the cross and for us in that he was resurrected and now he is the perfect Son of God but that righteousness is imparted unto you it is given to you by faith but there is also positionally this understanding that though I am a believer I am still wrestling with the flesh I am still struggling with the old mindset I am still dealing with old habits in my life what is the key the key that as I come to Christ and I walk with him as I am in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ that I allow him to transform my life in that as He has forgiven me,

as He is changing me, He is developing me into someone who is new that reflects more of Christ in my life. Following Jesus is not something that we can just do half -heartedly. Any effort to follow Christ half -heartedly only leads to you being stuck in your old habits, your old attitudes, and your old actions.

But when you fully sell out to Jesus Christ and you surrender to Him completely, you are going to watch God do something dramatic in your life in that He will change you. Now some of you are saying, Pastor Mike, I grew up in a Christian home, I grew up in a good family, and there really wasn’t so much of a dramatic change in me, but I begged to differ with you.

Your transformation may not be like Saul of Tarsus was in that this great light shone about and that you were kind of knocked off your horse, if you will, and that all of a sudden, you surrendered to God.

It may not have been as dramatic as that, but I tell you that when God revealed Himself to you and when He shone His light in your heart, that there was an understanding in your life that you were a sinner in need of a savior and that the moment that you gave your life to Jesus Christ, I am confident of this one thing, that the things that did not bother you before, like being prideful or perhaps even being selfish,

that they now as the Spirit of God lives in you, they now come to the forefront of things that God is calling you to change. It’s hard for us sometimes to change because again, we wrestle with the flesh and we don’t always want to change.

We want to hold on to the things that appeal to the flesh, but God is calling us to a life of service and a life of sacrifice. and as we surrender to Him even though our transformation may not seem so amazing on the outside, there is something that God is doing on the inside of each of our life as He is developing us into a new creation.

The second thing I want you to see here in the transformation of Saul and how to live a transformed life is that there must be fervency in our supplication or in our prayer life. We jump down to verse 10 and you’ll note again here, the Bible says now, there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias, he said, here I am, Lord.

And the Lord said to him, arise and go to the street called strait and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is what, church? He is praying. He is praying. Look at verse 12.

in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. Have you ever thought about that? Right at the outset of verse 1 of chapter 9, Saul is breathing threats.

We go back to chapter 8. Saul is consenting to the death of a leader in the church. He is okay with the fact that Stephen has been stoned to death. And then the Bible says in verse 1 of chapter 8 that at that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem.

And who led that great persecution? It was Saul. He is this great persecutor of the church and he is literally willing to kill people who follow Christ. Then all of a sudden God knocks him off his high horse.

He humbles himself before Jesus Christ as he hears the voice of God in his life and he responds, Lord what do you want me to do? And in that moment of transformation he is a man who is found praying.

He is a man found praying. What is the key to you living a transformed life? It is prayer. It is fervency in your prayer. Saul hated Jesus Christ. He hated the way. He hated the people of God. But here God stopped him in his tracks and he became a man of prayer.

As he prayed what was he seeking? A relationship, a fellowship with God as opposed to some kind of religion. I want you to remember that prayer is not just a religious duty. It is not just something that we do because we feel compelled to do is to keep God happy.

But rather part of our transformation is that as we are praying God is changing us. People say to me why should I pray? Pastor, well, I want you to know, not only should you pray because God works through prayer and God has chosen to bless through prayer and that God in his sovereign will always accomplishes eternal works through the prayers of his people.

And I want you to know that we should pray because prayer blesses others and God calls us to pray, but did you know that you should pray because God will change you as you are praying? Now, so many people see prayer as for somebody else or prayer as praying for a particular circumstance or situation, rightly so, but prayer goes deeper and prayer goes further.

You wanna be that person of God? You wanna be that person who honors God in your life that be fervent in your prayers because through prayer, God is humbling your heart. Through prayer, God is shaping your heart.

Through prayer, God is molding you into the image of Christ, and He is bringing us in alignment to His will. You remember our Lord and Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane, that as He was preparing Himself to be crucified on the cross that was imminent upon Him, that He had invited the disciples to come into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with Him.

He finds that as He looks back, that they’re sleeping. How would you feel calling on people to pray and partner with you? And when you look, you find them sleeping. You find them sleeping. The weight of the sins of the world approaching the Savior of Jesus Christ, that the immense responsibility of paying for the sins of mankind upon our Savior, and just the emotional task, the physical task that was before Him,

the Bible says, that He was sweating great drops of blood. The stress, the immensity of it weighing upon His mind, and His heart was right there. But what does He do? He calls out upon God, and He says, Lord, if it’s possible, allow this cup to pass from me.

What cup? The cup of suffering, the cup of sacrifice. He calls out to the Father, if it’s possible, let the cup of suffering pass from me. But He says, Lord, not my will, your will. What is God doing in prayer?

He is aligning your heart with His heart. For we are taught by Jesus Christ Himself in the Lord’s prayer that we are to pray, Lord, not my will, but your will. We are taught that we are to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in, thank you.

And this is the alignment of prayer that God is doing in your life. who neglect prayer in their life are not only powerless and they are not seeing the eternal work of God in the hearts of their own children, in their own lives, and their people that are around them, but their hearts are not even aligned with the will of God.

You want to live a transformed life in this world? You want to make a difference? You want to impact your family? You want to impact your children? I cannot stress enough to you that you need to be a person who is fervent in prayer.

The third thing I want you to see is that we are called to be faithful in service. Look at verse 13 of chapter 9, the Bible said, Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard him, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. Have you ever been there? And Ananias, he was a faithful man of God. He was doing the work of Christ, and God revealed to him in a vision that he was to go to Saul, and that he was to lay his hands upon him, that Saul might receive his sights.

And Ananias is like, wait a minute, Lord. I think, A, you got the wrong man. And B, I think you don’t know who Saul is. And you and I have been there. We have said, Lord, we think that you don’t fully understand.

We have thought, you know what, Lord, maybe this is not what you clearly see what is going on here. And so here he tells the Lord, he wants to straighten him out. Verse 14 says, and here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name.

Lord, that puts me in the fire in lane. But look at the response in verse 15. The Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, for I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Verse 17, and Ananias went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

What are the keys to being faithful in service? First, there is a calling that God has upon us. I want to remind every one of you that every believer is called to be a minister. Every believer is called to some ministry.

You see. say, I wanna make a difference, then listen, you have to live a life of ministry, a life of service. You can’t wake up every day and say, I wanna live for self. You can’t wake up every day and say, I want it all to be about me.

Friends, you’ll never make any impact upon others, but when you get up in the day and say, Lord, here I am, send me, send me to that person, send me to that situation. I want to be a blessing. I want to serve you.

I want to help others. I want to make a difference. You see, there’s a call that is upon all of us. Maybe you’re not getting a vision and maybe you’re not hearing a voice and you wonder, God, do you wanna use me?

I tell you that he does. That this call is upon each and every heart that has committed their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. There was not only the call to service, but there was the understanding of the cost of serving God.

Did you see that in verse 16? God said to Ananias, I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake. I want you to know that when you serve God, it won’t be easy. I want you to know that serving God is messy.

And why is it messy? Because people are messy and lives are a mess and there are imperfect people that live in this world and you get frustrated and you want everything to be perfect and you want everything to come together and you just want everything to be so wonderful.

But I tell you that when you serve God, you have to get your hands dirty. When you serve God, you have to be willing to humble your heart. When you serve God, I want you to know that sometimes people will misunderstand you.

They will misunderstand your motives and they’ll misunderstand what you’re trying to do to help them. When you serve God, you’re gonna get some pushback. When you serve God, even your own family might think that you’re a little weird.

Why? Because every day, through all the different media platforms that are out there, they’re told to glorify self. They’re told to live for self. They are told to make it about them. All you gotta do is listen to how people talk.

I listen to people talk and it’s always about them. It’s about how they can one up your story. But when was the last time that you heard somebody who was really interested in you, who was interested in what you are dealing with?

And they’re asking questions about your circumstances. The heart is revealed in how you listen to others. And that’s what God is telling you. There are many qualities of a transformed life. We’ve learned a few of them this week.

We’ll continue our study next week, and these stand as a standard for us as we strive to be more like Christ and the incredible transformation that God did in the life of the Apostle Paul. And I hope that you will read this and continue to dig into the Word of God on your own and that you will be encouraged and challenged.

I want to remind all of you that are able to stand with us and support us that this month for every donation that we receive, we’re sending the donors a nice New Testament soul winners Bible, something that you can keep in your car, your purse, or even your pocket and you can use it as you are sharing Christ with others.

I hope you’ll take advantage of this and it gives you many Bible verses how to answer different questions or topics that people might have. when you’re discussing and having those spiritual conversations.

This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.

Recent Podcasts

The Power of God’s Word Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Power of God’s Word Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 19:8-20 I want you to be careful, Church, that you just don’t jump in emotionally and find yourself led astray, fully humiliated, all the way exposed as a part of

Listen Now

The Power of God’s Word Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Power of God’s Word Part 1. He will be reading out of Acts 19:8-20 Too many times as believers we think that somehow we have failed based upon the response of others towards our witnessing. But you have not failed at any moment

Listen Now

What Does it Mean to Receive the Holy Spirit Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Does it Mean to Receive the Holy Spirit Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 19:1-7 You should not pursue those signed gifts. They have been completed because that which is perfect has come, Church. You have everything that God wants

Listen Now