Archie Bunker had a favorite chair in All in the Family. You can see it on

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1 Conversion of St. Paul 2015 January 25, 2015 Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio Pastor Kevin Jud Acts 9:1-22, Galatians 1:11-24, Matthew 19:27-30 Archie Bunker had a favorite chair in All in the Family. You can see it on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C. On the show Frasier, Frasier s father Martin Crane has a hideous old recliner that he cannot part with. At my house there is Dad s spot on the couch although sometimes people don t remember. Do you have a favorite chair? Often people not only have a favorite chair, but they have constructed for themselves a throne in which they sit as ruler of their realm; a throne that has been put together with great care. We are sorely tempted to construct thrones with all of our own good intentions and systems that we develop and craft to work for us. We design our own systems of right and wrong. We go through the cafeteria of morality and choose which morals work for us and we leave alone the morals that we find too difficult. We go through the buffet of belief systems and choose for ourselves what it is that we believe is important and what is not. We pick and choose with great discernment and we collect things haphazardly and we design a structure that works for us and that has been specifically designed just for us by us. And we sit in our thrones and we rule over the realm of our own existence by our own rules.

2 2 Saul of Tarsus had a throne on which he sat and was ruler of his realm. Saul sat on the throne of the Torah and its rules and regulations. Saul was passionate for the Torah. Saul was advancing in Judaism beyond many his own age, so extremely zealous he was for the traditions of the fathers. Saul s life revolved around persecuting the followers of The Way ; those that believed that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God crucified and risen from the dead. Saul is breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord Jesus. He is going to Damascus to hunt down Christians and Saul believes he is doing God s work. He sits on the throne of the Torah and the traditions of the fathers. It is the system that works for him, and it is working well. It works well until Jesus comes to Saul on the road to Damascus and destroys Saul s throne. Saul is dethroned as Jesus tears apart everything that Saul believes is true. The resurrected Jesus stomps down Saul s throne and leaves him broken and blind. All that Saul thought was true is left in shambles on the road to Damascus. But Saul is not left broken and blind for long. Three days later a disciple of Jesus named Ananias comes and lays his hands on Saul and says, Acts 9:17 (ESV) 17 Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 1 Saul regains his sight, is baptized and begins to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. Saul s old life of Judaism is gone. His old friends and colleagues are gone. Everything that he held dear is gone. Saul s comfortable throne is gone; all destroyed by Jesus. In Jesus the old is gone, the new has come. In Jesus, Saul is a new creation. 1 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001

3 3 We all have to learn the same lesson that Paul, then called Saul learned. Jesus Christ is crucified and risen from the dead, and this changes everything. You see, you are continually tempted to construct for yourself your very own comfortable throne where you can sit as Lord of your own life. You are tempted to make up your own system of morality that you think you can live with chosen from any variety of sources and then molded and shaped to fit you. You say, I know sexual intimacy belongs only in the one-flesh bond of marriage, but I think it is okay as long as I love the person. I know that I should not hate others, but this one person really deserves it. I know that I should love my neighbor, but that so-and-so really ticks me off so it is okay if I don t love them and don t forgive them; I have my rights. I know I should not cheat or steal, but everyone does it. I know I should go to church faithfully, but it feels so good to sleep in on Sunday; church once a month is probably good enough. I know I should live generously toward others, but I really need these new things that I want for myself. I am my own person; I can believe what I want when I want. I can do what I want, when I want. It is my body, my life, my money, my time, my system, my throne. And where you hold to this system that you designed you feel good about yourself and superior to those who do not live up to your standards. And where you fail to live up to the standards in the system you designed you make excuses and rationalizations and say, I ll do better next time, or you simply adjust your standards to fit your new reality and then again feel superior to others who do not live up to your expectations. In this life you are continually tempted to construct a throne of your own standards; your own system of living; your own system of morality; your own system of beliefs.

4 4 But then you are confronted with the knowledge that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died and was buried and then rose from the dead on the third day and that changes everything. Because if Jesus rose from the dead that means He is indeed God in flesh. He is who He says He is. He said He would be rejected, suffer, die and rise again. If He did it then it means that He is God with us. He is Immanuel. And if Jesus is God, then you are not. If Jesus rose from the dead then it means that you don t get to make your own rules and develop your own system of living. If Jesus rose from the dead it means He is Lord and Master and you are beholden to His will and not your own will. If Jesus rose from the dead your throne is destroyed. Your life is not your own, you belong to Jesus. Jesus risen from the dead changes everything. Jesus risen from the dead destroys the thrones that you try to build for yourself. Jesus risen from the dead dethrones you from being Lord of your own life and Jesus is crowned Lord of all. Jesus being Lord of your life changes things. Jesus becomes the most important thing in your life and everything else is subservient to Jesus as Lord. Because Jesus rose from the dead He is number one in your life. Family and employment and money and possessions and sexuality and relationships and everything else fall under submission to the Lordship of Jesus. Everything is under the will of God through Jesus Christ because Jesus is risen from the dead. Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed!) Alleluia! Jesus risen from the dead changes everything because He is the Lamb of God sacrificed on the altar of the cross for your sins. In the waters of baptism Jesus has redeemed you from sin, death and the devil. And Jesus did not just redeem your spirit;

5 5 He did not just redeem part of you. Jesus redeems you fully and completely; body and soul. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You have been totally cleansed by the blood of Jesus. You take into yourself the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. Your body and soul belong to Jesus. Even though you are a natural born sinner you have been made right with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Even though you have tried again and again to be Lord of your own life Jesus saves you by giving up His own life for you. Jesus takes your sins to the cross and dies for them. And Jesus rises from the dead and that changes everything. Because Jesus conquers sin; because Jesus conquers death, in Him you have eternal life. And so it all boils down to this. Did Jesus rise from the dead? The first disciples, who are the ones who know for sure whether Jesus rose from the dead or not, all but one gave up their lives because they were preaching about Jesus risen from the dead. John we believe died of natural causes but was put into exile because He preached about the resurrected Jesus. The apostles had nothing to gain and everything to lose and they knew the truth and they proclaimed that truth to the world. Christ is risen! And that changes everything. It changes everything for Paul who gives up his life in Judaism to proclaim a resurrected Jesus until the day he is executed. It changes everything for you as your life is in Christ forever. Your throne is destroyed. Jesus is your king. Jesus is your Lord. Because Christ is risen! Amen.