“To change who you are, you most often have to change who you are with.” – Craig Groeschel
6 “As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus. 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ 17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’ 21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”Acts 22:6-21 (CSB)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
New Starts For Every Christ Follower
1. We have a New Relationship with God and therefore with Each Other
(John 1:12, 1 John 4:7)
2. We have a New Awareness of God’s All Powerful Spirit at Work Within Us
(Acts 1:8, Galatians 5:16, 22-23)
3. We have a New Hunger for New Food: God’s Word
(Psalm 119:9, 11, 89, 101, 103)
4. We have a New Intolerance for Sin
(Romans 7:21-25, 1 John 1:9)
5. We have an Eternal Reason to Wake up Daily: A New Mission
(Acts 26:28-29)