First Presbyterian Church of
100 North Hillcrest Boulevard
Telephone numbers: (310) 677-5133 Fax (310) 330-8342
Electronic mail: PRESBYTS@SBCGLOBAL.NET
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Rev. Dr. Harold E. Kidd
Acts 8: 1;9: 1
A CONVERSION
THAT LEADS TO WHOLENESS
(Extended Outline)
"Now Saul
was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the
church which was at Jerusalem: and they were all scattered throughout the
regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles."
Acts 8:1
"Then
Saul 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, whether men or women, he might bring
them bound to Jerusalem." Acts
9: 1-2
So often God inspires a
sermonic theme through the words of his
people responding to current events which affect us all. I want to thank Jerry
Prazak who raised the question with me this past Thursday, "Are you going
to preach on what has happened at Virginia Tech?"
Strange though it may seem,
God has a word for us out of this text on Saul prior to and following his
conversion that speaks in a way that might help us in response to last week's
incidents of murder in Virginia and Houston.
In Barack Obama's latest
book, The Audacity of Hope, he writes,
"And
because politics seems to speak so little to what they (Americans) are going
through - because they understand that politics today is business and not a
mission, and what passes for debate is little more than spectacle they (meaning Americans) turn inward,
away from the noise and rage and endless chatter They turn inward."
Well what happens when
people turn inward and inward is not healthy? When we are spiritually, or
emotionally or mentally dysfunctional internally?
This past week's incidents
at Virginia Tech and the Johnson Space Center will continue to fuel the ongoing
debates on:
·
Gun Control Regulation, how
much is enough
·
Security measures on college
campuses and in the work place
·
They raise the question of
the rights of the individual to deny treatment when it becomes apparent they
are a threat to themselves and their community. Should an individual be treated
against their will, when they are a threat to themselves and community?
Virginia Tech raises another
question as well: What is the State of Mental Health in America?
a) In light of the recent events of this past week concerning the murder
of 33 persons on the campus of Virginia Tech and later the murder of one
individual at the Johnson Space Center
b) As an older gentleman said to me the other day as we watched the
Johnson Space Center Stand-off , "The
wheels are coming off"
People are angry, some are frustrated and it doesn't take much to set some off.
What is the state of mental health in America?
c) CNN reported that 1 out of every 100 students is under mental stress.
But its not just students. The Johnson Space Flight Center incident proved that
people are living under enormous amounts of stress, anxiety, and pressure in
just about every walk of life. Not just on college campuses.
d) So we might wonder, what would a person do without Jesus? Amen.
e) One of the pieces of information that surfaced on Mr. Cho the student
who went on the killing rampage was that he had mental disorders from an early
age, but some how no one had been successful in getting him the help he needed.
Even campus authorities made mention they had suggested he seek some type of
mental health intervention , medication, but he denied it.
f) Mental illness in the bible is often associated with demonic
possession. And the point I want to make here is that he was a young man who
needed some help. Whether it was mental intervention or spiritual intervention;
help was needed.
·
"Then Saul still breathing threats and murder against the
disciples of the Lord went, to the High Priest" Acts 9.1
·
We must not forget that Saul
of Tarsus was a mass murderer before his conversion. I wonder what would the
mass murder profilers have to say about Saul before his conversion? I wonder what
would they have said about his state of mind? Well, he must have been mentally
unstable, and a religious fanatic because he was hell bent on killing the
believers. A kind of spiritual-religious cleansing. He was going to save the
Jewish people from this radical religious group who called themselves People of
the Way. He was on a mission to stamp it out by any means necessary
·
If he had not met Jesus on
that Damascus road, no doubt Saul would have gone down in history not as the
Apostle of Jesus, but like Hitler and Saddam Hussein, a mass murderer of
innocent people.
·
The reporters said that it
is not unusual for persons who end up like Cho to attach themselves to some
religious figure as a means of giving legitimacy to their sense of purpose. His
was a mind that became dysfunctional. Dillusions of grandeur, deep feelings of
anger and persecution.
·
Some develop a Messiah Complex as did Jim Jones,
·
Some a Martyrs Complex as
did David Koresh of Branch Davidian,
·
Cho actually believed he was standing up for the rights of the
poor, defending the rights of those who hand been in his mind rejected like
himself.
·
"Saul, Saul, Why Are You Persecuting Thou Me?" Acts 9: 4
a)
When we do harm to others we
are doing harm to the God who
made them in
His image. But mass murderers, those who would do harm to others, gang bangers,
abusers, etc. cannot see that not only are they killing God's children, but
they are killing their own humanity, killing the Son of God afresh. Saul, Saul
why are you persecuting Me? "As you did
it unto the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me."
·
After Saul's conversion:
·
"They led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus"
Acts 9: 8
And the Lord
appeared to one of his disciples named Ananias and sent him to the house of
Judas instructing him to lay hands on Saul, so that he might receive his sight
and be healed. Because "He is a
chosen vessel" Yes we are
chosen, we are special to God and therefore the Lord is always working for our
wholistic health and good. If we let him. Amen.
a)
He met Ananias, "Ananias laid hands on him and said, brother
Saul receive your sight", and immediately the scabs (scales)fell from his
eyes, and he was healed."
b) Ananias, by the words of this text, had the power to heal. For the text
says in verse 17, "And Ananias went his way and entered the house, and
laying hands on him he said,
"Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared unto you on the road as you
came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy
Spirit."
c)
He sent Saul to someone
qualified to continue the healing process.
d)
Conversion is not a one
dimensional event or experience, but rather conversion involves mind, body and
soul. Saul had been converted in his soul when he met Jesus on that Damascus
Road but there was some healing that yet needed to be done. Amen.
We are
converted, but God is still working in our lives to bring about wholistic
healing. Things do breakdown, wear out, and God has an Ananias to help promote
our healing.
WELL:
·
Just because someone has a
conversion experience does not mean that there is not some baggage that needs
to be dealt with.
·
Just because someone has a conversion
experience does not guarantee them protection against cancer, or depression, or
abuse,
or the need
for grief counseling or some anger management therapy.
·
Just because someone has a
conversion experience does not mean there are not other areas in their life
that do not need the services of an Ananias.
·
Yes, the Lord sent Saul,
after he was converted, to Damascus and sent Ananias to continue the healing
transformation process. Saul could have opened his eyes and still been blind,
but Ananias laid hands upon him and his eyes were healed.
I wish I knew how to make it
plain.
We may be converted but
still have need of seeing a cardiologist, or an oncologist, or anger management
therapist. Conversion of the soul is only a part of wholistic health and transformation.
Conversion is a mind body, and soul experience working in harmony with each
other. So when the mind becomes ill we need mental intervention. When the body
gets ill we need medical intervention. When the soul gets ill we need spiritual
intervention. All three work together for good of the human individual.
We may be converted but
still have need of getting the counsel of a qualified family therapist, or
marriage counselor.
We can pray to the Lord all
we want but his word may be to send us to someone like Ananias who can help
continue our healing process, because the Lord is interested in our wholistic
health, not just health of the soul, but health of our minds and bodies as
well. Amen.
"He sent Ananias to continue the healing process" Yes,
one of the tragedies of this
Virginia gunman was that he may have been saved if someone had intervened early
enough in his life, to get him the help that he needed. But alas, it was too
late.
Thank God this morning for
those whom he calls, equips, certifies, trains and annoints to be our Ananias:
Thank God this morning for:
·
The speech Therapist and the Physical Therapist
·
The Dentist and the Oral
Surgeon
·
The Rheumatologist and the
Urologist
·
The Psychologist and the Psychiatrist
·
Those who deal with the mental
conditions of Alzheimer's and Dementia
·
The Cardiologist and the
Oncologist
Thank God for Ananias. These
incidents may be saying to us, if we see something isn't right go get it
checked out. If someone we love or know seems to show symptoms of one thing or
another encourage them to go get it checked. Thank God for those who have said
to us, "You better go see about that."