May 5, 2019                Conversion                                            

         In our epistle lesson this morning, we hear the story of Saul of Tarsus. You see, Saul was a Jew, through and through, his parents were Jewish, he grew up in the synagogue and participated in all the right rituals, he had devoted his life to the law of God, and had become the chief priests top lawyer and investigator. Saul was blameless before the law, and a member of the Pharisees, a group that sought purity in faith and in practice.  

         Saul hated Christians. As he saw it, for these Christians to claim that Jesus was the Son of God was an attack on his religion, his faith, and family. And so Paul went around finding these Christians, driving them out of their homes and communities and attacking those who dared preach about this Jesus.

         Everyone’s life is driven by something. And Saul’s life was driven by his pride, pride in himself, pride in his religion, pride that led to anger, violence, suffering and death. But on that road to Damascus, God stops him dead in the road, and blinds his eyes, and changes his life. No longer will he be driven by this pride in himself, or his religion, but from now on, he will be driven by his desire to know Jesus Christ. As many of you know, Saul of Tarsus, becomes Paul, the great apostle of the early Christian church, and it is that same passion he had for persecuting Christians, that becomes the driving force in his bringing Christianity to all the world.

         What is the driving force in your life? In his book, the purpose driven life, Rick Warren picks out five of the most common things that drive human lives.

         Some people are driven by guilt, they spend their entire lives running from regrets or hiding their shame. Guilt driven people allow the memories of their past to control them. They always wonder what people are saying about them, and so they see conspiracies all around them.

         The problem with being driven by guilt is that we become prisoners to our past, always seeing ourselves from those one or two incidents that we allow to define us.

         But there is good news! God says we don’t need to be driven by guilt. God took a murderer Moses and made him a liberator. God took a coward named Gideon, and made him a hero. And God can help you to redefine your life, and free you from the guilt that keeps you a prisoner as well.  

         Some people are driven by resentment and anger. They hold onto hurts that happened to them long ago, they play them over and over in their minds, planning and plotting their revenge.

The problem with being driven by resentment and anger is that some people internalize it, allowing it to eat away at their lives and at those close to them. Others, allow it to take control of their lives, and in order to keep themselves safe, they strike out and seek to destroy anyone they feel threatened by.

But there is good news! Those who are driven by resentment and anger have been given in Jesus Christ, the power of forgiveness, by which they can let go of their hurt and their anger. The power to stop resentment from eating away at them. The power to no longer feel threatened and to end their endless and angry crusade against others.

         Some people are driven by Fear. Perhaps they had a tramatic experience as a child, or perhaps they lived in a relationship where mistakes were treated with overly harsh punishments.

The problem with being driven by fear, is that fear keeps us from reaching out, trying new things, taking some chances that might lead to a better life.  

         But there is good news! In Jesus Christ, God has shown us a life that trusts in God. A life that is not free of mistakes, or hurt, or punishment, but one that faces these with God present in our lives, so that we might bear these hardships and discover on the other side a new life.

         Some people are driven by material possessions. Some think that having more or living better than others makes them better than others. Others think that having more will give them greater security in life.

         The problem with this is that self-worth and net-worth are not the same, and the reality of wealth is that it can be won and lost through a number of uncontrollable factors.

         But there is good news! Real self-worth and security comes in realizing ourselves as children of God. Of having a relationship with God and with others that can never be shaken, or taken away by some market. True happiness is not a matter of bank accounts but of the peace and security that we find relationships of love and trust with God and one another.

         Some people are driven by a need for approval. They allow the expectations of others to control their lives.

The problem with those who are driven by a need for approval is that they often they find that in trying to please everyone, they please no one, and their lives seem hopelessly out of control. 

But there is good news!  God is not some human being who changes his mind repeatedly, who runs us round seeking one thing one moment and another the next. When we seek God’s approval, it is always the same, and God does not withhold his approval in order for us to satisfy our whims, God gives us his approval and makes good his promises to those who follow him.

        

         In our gospel lesson this morning, we find the disciples after the resurrection of Jesus. Their leader Peter is still bound by his sense of guilt over denying Jesus. So when he instructs the disciples to go fishing, he isn’t talking about fishing for men, but to return to the old life of catching fish.

But then Jesus appears on the beach and calls them to cast their nets anew, as he did when he called them to fish for men, and their nets were filled to overflowing.

In the conclusion of this scene, Jesus asks Peter three times, Do you love me – we can clearly see that this threefold question reminds Peter of his denial, but we can also see, that through it, the road is cleared for Peter to respond to Jesus final command, “follow me”

         So what drives your life? guilt, resentment, fear, possessions, approval, or is it something else that keeps you from realizing God’s glory in your life? The good news is that God in Jesus Christ has the power to overcome them all, and give you a new meaning and purpose for your life, if we are just willing to hear and respond to his command, “follow me!”