Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our first lesson (Acts 9: 1-22).

Most of you adults have probably had the experience of supervising children. You know the situation. The kids are, let us say, in the basement. You hear a clamor start down there between two of them. The noise gets louder. You walk (calmly of course) to the top of the stairs and exclaim in a firm but loving voice: "Do I need to come down there?" Change the situation. You hear the noise downstairs, but it's not a clamor between two who are arguing. You hear a crash, then a cry. You can't tell how bad the injury may be. You quickly go to the top of the stairs and say in a different tone of voice: "Do I need to come down there?"

Our relationship with our Lord in heaven is rather like these situations. When we are trapped in a sin, be it an unresolved argument with a neighbor, or disobeying an authority, or sexual promiscuity in our minds or with our bodies, or gossiping against our neighbor, God through His Word exclaims in a firm voice: "Do I need to come down there?" When we are repentant, when we acknowledge our trouble, our cry to be rescued by Him he says in love: "Do I need to come down there?"

In the Old Testament, at least in the KJV translation, when the LORD speaks about "coming down there" He often speaks about "visiting" his people. The tone of the visit differs depending on whether the people are caught in a sin, sinning willfully against His Law or not. In situations like those, God speaks a word of threat with his visit. For example (Exodus 32: 34) when the Israelites had made the Golden Calf idol while Moses was on the mountain, the Lord said: "nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them." Then the LORD sent a plague. But when his people turn to Him in faith and request the eternal rescue He has provided, His visit is Good News like Psalm 106: "4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favor that you bear to your people: O visit me with thy salvation."

In our lesson from Acts, the Lord Jesus did literally come down and "visit" Saul, whose Greek name was the more common "Paul." Saul was, he thought, a fervent protector of the Old Moses Covenant with God. In that old covenant, false prophets and followers of false gods could be shunned or even killed. Paul knew of Jesus' story. We know he knew of Jesus' death and resurrection through at least Stephen, who had been martyred in Paul's presence (Acts 6 to Acts 8:1, Acts 22: 20). But it took Jesus coming down and visiting Paul and blinding him with a light, knocking him off his horse, and telling him in what was surely a firm, but loving voice: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Jesus had a plan for Saul. Saul would come to faith, trust in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation, and then spread the Good News about Jesus throughout the world. Paul had made others suffer because of Jesus. Now Paul would become a sufferer (2 Corinthians 11: 22ff) for Jesus' name, being persecuted again and again for Jesus for the next 30 years until he was, we are told by ancient church historians, martyred himself, killed for the name of Jesus in Rome. The message Paul proclaimed shouldn't have gotten him killed. His was a message of GRACE: God's Riches At Christ' Expense. Grace is God's deep love and forgiveness for us, shown dramatically and tangibly through Christ's suffering and death.

Christians with sensitive consciences sometimes have the misguided notion that their sin is so horrid that even God could not forgive them. They think they've sinned in a way worse than others, beyond forgiveness. ��

But if that particular doubt ever leads you to despair or away from Jesus, consider this. Is your sin as great as Paul's? NO! Not possible. Have you ever actively, in the name of God, gone out to arrest Christians, have them jailed, have them killed because they believed in Jesus? Paul had. That would have been the burden of guilt Paul could have held onto throughout his life, except for one thing: The Grace of His Lord Jesus Christ. Even decades after his conversion, Paul was still struggling with sin; not the willful conscious sins he committed against Jesus' church as he did before. � But he was still struggling with that sin we will all struggle with in this life, the sins of weakness and our Old Adam struggling to stay alive inside our skin. That is what we confessed from Paul's words in Romans 7 earlier in our service: "15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.� 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing�. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Sometimes people say "I wish the Lord would come and visit me personally in a vision." Be careful with what you pray for. Paul was converted at his vision, but was then called to a life of discipleship that included beatings and imprisonments, stonings and shipwrecks, hunger and thirst. In reality your Lord has come to visit you. Thanks be to God Our Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate, that is God came in human flesh for us all. He came and died on the cross for you -- just as He did for Paul. Jesus prayed from the cross "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." That prayer was answered for Paul and for you and for me. He rose again from the grave for you so that you can be resurrected to life eternal with Jesus. All who have Christ will have the opportunity to meet Paul in heaven and hear all of the wondrous stories of what Jesus did for him again and again here on earth. In reality Jesus has come to each of us in the same waters of baptism that Paul received in our lesson. God has sent someone like Ananias to baptize us into Christ's body the Church. In reality, Jesus continues to come to each of us in the Lord's Supper, just as Jesus did for Paul (1 Corinthians 11). Can Jesus still come in visions? Sure, He can do whatever he desires. Does Jesus still choose to? That is something we can never be as confident in as we are with his inspired Word from Paul and Peter and Luke and others of that first amazing generation after Jesus.

We can be confident that Jesus continues to come and speak to us through the Word of God, the Bible. We continue to hear Jesus' words from each other, from me to you, and you to me, and you to each other. Christ's eternal Word is as relevant and powerful today as it was 2000 years ago. We shouldn't be disappointed or surprised if Jesus never speaks to us directly. When we are supervising children, we don't always come to another room and speak to them directly. We often send another child to tell them our message: "Johnny, go tell your brother it's time for dinner." "Freddie, go tell your sister that I want her to clean her room." "Susie, go ask Annie if she needs some help." When we send another child with a message, we hope that they transfer the message accurately and with the right tone. We don't want Johnny whining "Mom says it's time for dinner and you better get there or else." We don't want Freddie adding to the message: "Sis, clean up your room or you're grounded."

In the same way, Christ has chosen his earthly children to go and tell others of his message of love and forgiveness earned through his cross and resurrection. He chose Paul to tell that message. And over the next 30 years, 1000's of people came to believe Paul's message about Jesus. Paul's suffering and death helped to convince many of his sincerity and the truthfulness of his message. Those whom Paul convinced then went and shared that message with others, and they with others, until today over one billion people profess that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus still continues to speak His Word, his Message of rescue through his children, you and me. The Holy Spirit continues to work through God's Word, even when spoken through fallible mouthpieces like you and me. Just as we sometimes send children to other children with our earthly messages, the Lord sends us to other children with his heavenly message. He wants us to communicate it to them as accurately as we can, with the right tone as well. 1 Peter 3: 15 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." Unbelievers don't realize their need for Jesus and his message, his hope. When we share it with them, we may be rejected. ��

Thanks be to God that few of us will be physically injured or killed for the faith as Paul was. As Pastor Schellenbach said to me recently, we in the U.S. rarely have to fear being stabbed for the faith, but we do receive many little spiritual papercuts. Others will push us away because of Jesus. We should expect that. If you haven't gotten a spiritual papercut lately, maybe you're not "handling the paper enough." Imitate Paul (1 Corinthians 4: 16) and let others know of your need for a Savior and who your Savior is, Jesus Christ our Lord. Let them know that God has come down to visit you, and that visit is the most important factor in your life.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)