Are you ready for an inspiring story today? Let’s look at Acts 9 and Acts 16. Did you know God can help you if you trapped in sin? He can restore you no matter the journey you’ve walked. If you lean in and say, “God, I’m ready,” he will redirect your steps and bring you into his presence.
If this resonates with you, please rate, review, and subscribe where you listen to podcasts. For updates follow me @jessejbradley on all socials and for the latest videos check out my YouTube channel Jesse Bradley. The best is yet to come!
Show Notes:
Inspiring Story- Paul
Acts 9 and Acts 16
God Rescues
Trapped in sin.
Trapped in dead religion.
Transformation
Incremental and monumental
A new start
God Restores
Ananias – faith over fear
Barnabas- become a bridge
Overcome church hurt
God Redirects
Listening to God
Prayerful decisions
Your posture- available
Leaning in and being ready
Saying Yes to God
Special thanks to World Concern for sponsoring The Bonfire Podcast.
Transcription:
There’s a habit that you can cultivate that’ll renew your mind and transform your life. And that’s the reason I wrote the Power of the Second Thought. My professional soccer career ended with a tragic illness in Africa. I was fighting for my life for one year and it took 10 years to fully recover. I just didn’t have a roadmap. I didn’t have the tools. I didn’t know how to take the next step forward. I didn’t find hope until I lost it, and I discovered that hope is available to everyone. That hope and abundance is relational. It’s also habitual. And there’s an indestructible hope that’s greater than the challenges that we face. Maybe you’re navigating some detours and difficulties right now and you need some direction. Check out the book, look at the information below.
Welcome to The Bonfire. My name is Jesse Bradley. God is love. God is light. God is a consuming fire. And this podcast more than anything else is focused on God’s presence. During the week, you might not be thinking about God, but this is a time set apart to draw near to God. And we know God will draw near to us because that’s his promise. You might be someone who’s just discovering about faith for the first time and it’s exciting, so glad you’re here. Or you could be someone who’s been kind of distracted lately, been running after the wrong things, just not thinking about God at all, and kind of drifted and wandered more than even realized or wanted to. And we say, come back. Welcome home. We’re returning to God together. And then also you might be someone who’s very devoted and you love God. You’re living for God, but you know there’s more and you’re hungry.
And this podcast is designed to fan the flame, to grow in your relationship with God, to grow deeper with God and to experience more of God throughout the week. It’s a 24/7 relationship and where we live, work, learn, or play. We want to be filled with God’s presence. If you’re just joining us, this is our first season, seventh episode, and every week, we’ve been focusing on one person, their inspiring story, someone who’s living for God, someone who’s full of faith in what we can learn and gain from their experiences because their story ultimately points to God. And we learn more about who God is, what he’s done, what he wants to do in our lives, what he’s designed us for. We discover our purpose and passion when we draw near to God. And as we get into scripture and we look at these different people who have lived for God, we’re inspired and we think through the application how we can not just talk about faith because we don’t want something that’s on the outside.
We want the inside story to change. And God’s presence, that’s what transforms our lives, our hearts, our minds and our souls. And today, we’re going to be talking about the apostle Paul. Now his name was Saul. He had a radical conversion and he’s one of the most well-known people in the Bible. Many scholars believe that he wrote 13 books of the Bible. I mean, there’s 66 books. So clearly this is God’s chosen instrument. And when you think about his life, he would be one of the least likely to be selected as a leader, especially the early church. Why? Because he was killing Christians. He was violent. And you can be moral, you can have a position prestige, but if you’re not under the lordship of Jesus Christ, you’re not really going to be all God’s designed you to be. And maybe you can relate. Maybe you have some talents, maybe you have some abilities, some potential, but you haven’t made that decision.
God’s presence, the presence of Jesus, when you trust his leadership and you offer yourself in worship to him, he is going to draw things out because he made you. He knows you. There are going to be parts of you that come alive. You’re going to be in alignment with heaven. All that happens when you come into God’s presence. Now, there’s a lot we could talk about with the apostle Paul and I want to give us something, some framework. Let’s talk about God rescues and that God wants to rescue us. God also wants to restore and God wants to redirect. When you think about Paul’s life, it’s a life of faith. By faith is a powerful phrase in the Bible. In Hebrews Chapter 11, it’s one person after another by faith, by faith, by faith. And when you think about God’s presence in your life, you’re going to live by faith. Now that might sound good, sounds kind of like a stained-glass, a churchy phrase, by faith, what does that actually look like? And that’s where we want to get specific in Paul’s story that is relevant and relates to our journey in our walk with God.
Let’s think about Acts Chapter 9. You can read that chapter. Paul’s story is in depth in that chapter, especially how he came to know Jesus. And it’s a jolt. It’s not one that he planned some of God’s greatest work and biggest blessings in your life. It’s not going to be something you planned. It’s not something you anticipate or you see coming. This is what happened. The resurrected Jesus appeared to the apostle Paul and there was like a light from heaven. Paul was humbled and he fell down. The greatness of Jesus humbles us. And Paul, as he falls down, things are going to change in his life. They’re going to change radically, instantaneously. Sometimes when God works in your life, it’s more gradual and sometimes it’s more radical, sometimes very long-term change and there’s increments. And yes, incremental can lead to monumental, but in other instances, monumental is sudden.
And that’s Paul’s story. As you hear his story, don’t belittle your own story. A lot of people think, “Well, I didn’t have a radical conversion. I didn’t have this crazy turnaround that was instant.” That’s okay. Your story’s interesting. Your story’s powerful. Your story glorifies God. So don’t compare your story to Paul’s and then think that yours doesn’t matter. Your story needs to be told. And now we’re focusing on Paul who he’s going to go into Damascus and not eat or drink for three days. And God was doing a deep work. He had this conversation with Jesus. And Jesus explained, “I’m the resurrected Lord, the one whom you’re persecuting.” And that tells us that God shows up in a personal way. God is not just distant, God is not some impersonal force. This is a relationship with God that couldn’t be more close, intimate or personal.
And Paul’s going to hear from Jesus himself, the resurrected Jesus. Paul is conversion. It’s going to be his life was going one way and then Jesus shows up and it’s going a completely different way. Let the Lord have that kind of authority and leadership in your life. If you have an area right now that’s going the complete wrong direction. If you’re against Jesus, if you’re against faith, if you’re doubting, if you’re running to sin, if you’re addicted to sin, sin is going to demand that you serve sin. Don’t serve sin. Serve Jesus. That’s what we see in Paul. We can all relate to that. Even every day, that’s a choice. Who am I going to serve today? Am I going to serve myself? Am I going to serve sin? Am I just going to serve the patterns of the world or am I going to serve Jesus?
Jesus is worthy. Jesus shows up. And because Paul is hurting the body of Christ, he’s persecuting, he’s violent. He wants to kill more people. He wants to persecute more Christians. Jesus shows up and says, “That’s it. It’s over. That’s enough. It’s not going to happen it.” And he’s inviting Paul to go a new direction. How is God inviting you in a new direction? What has God rescued you from? Has he rescued you from depression where you just wanted to kill yourself? Maybe you tried. Has he rescued from addiction, drugs? Has he rescued you from relationships, maybe a dating relationship that it was not from him? Has he rescued you from danger, physical danger? Have you been without finances and God rescued you from a financial mess? God rescues all of us. And when you hear Paul’s rescue story, it’s a chance to take a pause and think for a minute.
And how has God rescued you? What sins and situations has God rescued you from? That now you have the freedom of Christ, you have hope, you have life. You’re going to walk by faith. Paul’s story, it really changes and it’s a rescue story. And God continues with rescue stories every day around the world. Celebrate those, recognize those. And this is how Paul’s relationship with Jesus starts. Now with that jolt, and you think about the restoration, there’s a lot that needs to happen in Paul’s life. And as he’s waiting, God taps someone on the shoulder. His name is Ananias. Ananias is going to show up. He’s scared. Why? Because Paul’s been killing Christians. Ananias is talking to God, “Are you sure? I mean, this guy right here, I know his past. I know what everyone says. I know how scared everyone is of the Apostle Paul. I’m the one who’s going to show up?” And Ananias is faithful.
He shows up probably scared. Sometimes when God calls you to something and you’re walking by faith, you’re going to be trembling on the inside. You’re not going to know how it’s going to play out. And you might even feel scared of a certain person that God calls you to, a certain role, something you need to say and do. And on the inside, we all wrestle with fear. But Ananias chooses faith over fear. And he goes to Paul. Now his words are important. Brother Paul, he’s going to emphasize from the start, “We’re brothers, don’t hurt me, we’re brothers.” And then he says, “The Lord Jesus, so let’s go right to the one who appeared to you, the resurrected Jesus he sent me. So I’m with him, his authority, and if you’re going to mess with me, you’re messing with Jesus.” That’s how Ananias starts. And that transformation for Paul, it’s like scales coming off of his eyes and he has not just the physical but the spiritual vision, it’s clear for the first time in his life.
And that’s what God’s revelation does. It brings clarity in a world of confusion. And the devil wants to bring all kinds of confusion and chaos. When Jesus shows up, it makes all the difference. You might have 99 problems, but when you see Jesus clearly, you have the peace. Jesus is the prince of peace, and the peace of God starts to flood your heart and your mind. Jesus can calm the storm. He can calm what’s inside of you. And for the apostle Paul, it’s a new start for Ananias. He’s going to see Jesus working. Their faith comes together. Here’s what’s interesting. Paul then goes to Jerusalem from Damascus to Jerusalem, shows up with the other believers. And you would think these guys are solid in their faith, they’re mature. Paul would get a hug, a right hand of fellowship.
They would be thrilled that Paul is now joining the community. No, they’re skeptical. They know Paul’s past. They don’t receive him right away. And this could easily be a story of church hurt. Church hurt, where people have showed up for fellowship, expected one thing, received something very different. God is in it, but the people don’t recognize it. The community’s going one way, but God’s going the other way. And you feel left out. You feel alone. You feel misunderstood. Paul probably feels judged by his past. He feels like they’re holding that over him. They don’t know the new Paul. And because of all that, it’s intense. It’s complex. He’s feeling rejection. You might think of the apostle Paul and think, “He’s always been a leader. He’s always been accepted. He’s part of the community.” That’s not how it started. If you’ve gone to a church and you were hurt, don’t drift and become an island.
Don’t put up all the walls. Patience, forgiveness, find another setting, find another Bible study, another church, another group. You can’t do it alone. Paul is there and Barnabas becomes a bridge. Barnabas sees Paul and he comes alongside of Paul telling the other guys there, “Hey, I know this is legit. We got to welcome him. We need to love him. Let’s bring in Paul.” And as he does that, Paul’s now part of that community of faith. Be part of a community of faith. I know Jesus has one body around the world and I know we’re all part of that body. There’s also local churches and it’s so important as you look through scripture, there’s no question, church is something from God, is something good designed by God. There are local churches, local expressions of the faith. There are elders. All this is laid out in scripture, become part of a church family, a local church family where you serve other people.
You’re loved. You grow in your faith. You study the Bible, you pray, you reach the community. Do it together. It’s better together. It’s not going to be simple or easy. There’s going to be some bumps just like there is in Jerusalem for Paul. But keep going in that community of faith, forgive, connect, start to serve. And if you’re not in the right one, pray, it’s a prayerful decision. Find the one where you’re supposed to be.
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As Paul enters into that community, he starts to boldly share about Jesus. And when you have a lot of people around you that are going for it, you become bolder. And he takes the risks. And now he was spreading a message that was false. He was spreading a message of dead religion, spreading a message of righteous on the outside, but a mess on the inside. That was the Pharisees. He was spreading a message of earning your way to heaven. But now, it’s grace. It’s Jesus. It’s a relationship, the true gospel. He’s boldly sharing it. And what happens? There’s some people who try to kill him right away. How do you like that on-ramp for becoming a new Christian? “Some guys tried to kill me, so now I’m moving locations.” That was the start of his Christian life. Is that your start? Is that my start?
No, very different. And yet, we can relate in many ways because why? He is in a process of restoration. There’s oppositions and there’s obstacles. When you hear about Paul’s life, just know that the obstacles are massive. And that encourages us because we see how he overcomes obstacles. And we are also becoming more full of faith that with God’s presence, we’re going to overcome the obstacles before us. So God rescues and he wants to rescue. God restores and then God redirects. And this all includes overcoming obstacles. What obstacles are you facing right now? You have a vision. You know where God’s leading. You have those goals. You see the scripture, you have a direction, but you’ve got obstacles. Paul said, “God’s open an incredible door for me, yet there are many who oppose.” Just because God opens the door doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing.
Open doors and obstacles, it’s a both end package. Don’t back down. Don’t shrink back when the road is tougher initially than you thought. Jesus was baptized. This is my son and whom I love and whom I’m well pleased. And then what happens after the baptism? He’s getting tempted. He’s out in the wilderness 40 days, the devil shows up. Great victory, great challenge. Open doors, obstacles. It’s a both end. And we see the rescue. We see the restoration in Paul’s life. He spent some time alone, more in the desert too. His whole life is getting recalibrated. Don’t just run into the next action. Take time to pull back, recalibrate. Go deep with Jesus. You’re not going to lead people any deeper than the depth you have with Jesus. A deep well of faith, God’s presence, you know Jesus deeply not just know about him. You know him.
You’re going to need that abiding and that depth because the obstacles that are coming can be very intense. And don’t get discouraged. Don’t turn around, quit and give up. Don’t shrink back. Keep going. And I want to, in this time that we have remaining today, think about a passage where God redirects Paul. And this is Acts Chapter 16. And I say this as an encouragement because sometimes when you think about Paul, not only did he write those 13 books in the Bible, but he travels around the world. He’s planting churches, he’s teaching, he’s brilliant. God’s using him in incredible ways. Read through the book of Romans and look at that book as laying out our faith right there. Just one example. But there are so many places in scripture where the Holy Spirit’s working through Paul. And you can look at the end of Paul’s life and think, “Wow, look at everything that God did.”
But I want to focus on Acts Chapter 16 because this is a bumpy part for Paul. This is part of the humanity and the faith element. We talk about being on fire for God. That doesn’t mean everything’s easy. That doesn’t mean everything’s initially clear. That doesn’t mean we’ve got everything figured out. For Paul, there was static on the line. In Acts Chapter 16, he is trying to figure out where does God want him to go? Can you relate? So many times in life, God, where do you want me? Where should I work? Where should I live? What should I say? The relationships, where do you want me to go? You’re thinking through all that. Maybe it’s even a missions trip you’re thinking about. God, do you want me to go? And Paul’s first lean and it’s a lot of different places, Bethania, [inaudible 00:18:46], Asia, [inaudible 00:18:48]. He has all these places that he thinks he’s going to go towards and God says, “No, it’s not that one.”
Samuel was similar when he went and showed up at Jesse’s house. It was one son after another. Is it this one? This one? And David said, “No, I mean, it’s David. God made it clear it’s David. That’s who you anoint. That’s the next king.” Well, in this instance, in Acts Chapter 16, the apostle Paul goes to Macedonia. There’s a vision, “Come to Macedonia and help us.” And he knows God is leading to Macedonia. And you think about that prayerful process, and I think it’s encouraging because the decisions you make by faith, they’re either going to be ultra clear and obvious or they’re going to be probably pretty clear or you’re not going to be able to tell very clearly at all, and you’re just going to start to move forward. Think about those three scenarios. Very clear and compelling. When it was time to come to Seattle, both my wife and I knew without hesitation, without any doubt, it was so clear.
That’s kind of scary sometimes because when God makes something that clear and that compelling, you know you need to do it, or it could be, “Yeah, everything looks like it’s lining up this direction. I don’t know for sure, but by faith I’m going to take that step.” Or it could be, “God, I really don’t know. And in fact, I’m kind of trial and error, went some ways. Wasn’t quite that one, wasn’t quite right.” That’s where Paul is in Acts chapter 16. Some people when they hear about Paul, they just think, “He prays. And then everything is so clear.” He’s never taken a step to left or the right. He’s just walking that line so perfectly. And I look at Acts Chapter 16, I say, “No, this is someone who loves God, is on fire and he’s trying to figure it out and he’s leaning one way and God says no, and he leans another way and God says no. And he leans another way and God says no.”
He’s on like his fifth or sixth, like, “God, is this it?” And he doesn’t even see it coming. And God says, “Macedonia.” Take that as an encouragement. If the apostle Paul doesn’t have everything figured out, you and I aren’t going to have everything figured out. If he doesn’t know what’s coming in the next year or the next day sometimes, we’re not going to know what’s coming in the next day sometimes. And don’t put too much pressure on yourself to know it all and try to lie or fake with people like you do. Just be honest and say, “I’m praying. I thought it was this. It wasn’t.” And I love that about the redirect. In your relationship with God, one of the best things you can do is say yes to God’s redirect. And that might be on your job.
It might be in dating, it might be with some friendships, it might be with your schedule, some priorities, some habits, your finances. It could be certain, I would say callings, roles, specific assignments that God’s given to you. Let God redirect you. Why? Because his ways are higher than ours. He has wisdom. His thoughts are higher than ours. We’re walking by faith. We’re overcoming obstacles and God’s presence is the key. If we don’t have God’s presence, we’re going to come up with our own plans that are going to fail. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain. But notice Paul’s posture as he’s trying to figure it out. A lot of people when they’re trying to figure it out, they get really passive or they get impatient, they get frustrated. That’s not Paul.
What’s Paul doing with his posture? He doesn’t have clarity yet, but his posture is going to lean in, “God, I’m ready. I’m ready to share my story. God, I’m ready to talk about you. I’m ready to serve people. I’m ready to go love people. God, I’m ready.” Hold that posture before you have clarity and then just continue to guard that posture. There’s no better posture in life than to wake up, say, “God, I’m ready today. What do you have? I’m leaning in. I’m leaning in.” If I’m working with someone, it’s so much easier to have someone who’s ready to go down the road and I just guide and just make sure we stay on that road. We’re honoring God versus someone that’s like, “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not really going anywhere. I don’t know if I want to.” Not sure if they have the desire or the ability or it’s like they’re just stuck and happens to all of us. I get it. But the apostle Paul is leaning in, “God, I’m ready to talk. I’m ready to take action. I’m ready to travel.”
Take that posture even in the times of uncertainty and unknown, that posture right there full of faith. Why? Because he trusts Jesus. Why do we let God redirect us? Because we trust Jesus. Why are we going to be on fire for God? Because we’re close to Jesus. All this is centered around Jesus. When you hear Paul’s story, it’s Jesus’s story in Paul’s life. And the more we’re centered on Jesus, close to Jesus, trusting Jesus, you’re going to bear much fruit and you’re going to look back on your life and it’s going to make a lot of sense. All this redirection comes from Jesus. When Lori and I moved to California and we weren’t sure should we buy a place? And everyone was saying, “Buy it. Buy it. Get in the housing market.” It was three times more money than coming from the Midwest.
And initially, we were going to go for it. We had people we love saying go for it. And we thought, “Whew, it’s expensive, but let’s just do it.” And then it was a little check in our spirit and we stopped and we hit the pause button. We prayed and we waited. And eventually God made it clear. Don’t do it. We waited seven years before we bought a place and the housing market, the prices just kept coming down. We look back now and say, “It was God’s wisdom. It was his restraint, it was his no.” And that was a major blessing in our life financially, because buying a house is one of the biggest decisions. It was a redirect. Do you have any redirects where you look back and you say, “Thank you, God. Now it’s very clear you”? Say, “Thank you, God for redirecting me. Thank you for changing that. Thank you for taking my plan and bringing a much better plan.”
God’s redirect, sometimes I’ll have an initial plan, I think is like, “Okay, it’s pretty solid.” And I’ll get in a room with some other people who are listening to God, praying and giving honest input. And the plan changes. It just gets way better. And God speaks through those people. And I realized I couldn’t come up with this alone. But in the room together, God’s redirecting. Listen to the people around you. Have people are in the room who are smarter than you. Have people in the room who are going to be honest with you. God is going to redirect you with some other people and then keep checking in with the Holy Spirit. Is there confirmation? Is this good? Is this from you? What is God doing in Paul’s life?
He rescues him from the sin and then not just from it, but for a purpose. God rescues you, not just to pull you out of the pit, but to give you a purpose. And then as you start to live out that purpose, God’s going to restore you. God wants to bring a deep restoration, spiritual, emotional, relational. Paul had to shed the shame. He had to get rid of the shame, the false guilt. It’d be so easy for Paul this whole life to think, “Man, I used to kill Christians.” And he says, “I was the worst of sinners.” So he’s truthful about who he was but doesn’t define him. And it’s not the end of his story. So he receives God’s grace. This is greater than our sin. There’s a restoration in his life, and he holds that posture where he leans in. And God redirects.
Lean in, God redirects. This week, lean in, let God redirect. Keep listening to God, listening to the Holy Spirit. Be ready to tell people about Jesus. Be ready to invite people to church. Be ready to study the Bible. Be ready to pray. Be ready to serve people. Be ready to listen to people really well. Lean in and let God redirect you. On the other side of yes, God does amazing things, things God led Paul to so many places, to plant churches, to write books of the Bible. There are going to be lives that are changed, connected to your faith. And because you’re on fire for God, you’re going to have a timely word for someone. You’re going to guide your child incredibly well. You’re going to be in a dating relationship and you’re going to redirect it back to Jesus. You are going to not enter into a relationship where God doesn’t want you. You are going to know when to buy or rent a house. All these different things. Why? Because God gives wisdom to anyone who asks. And the best place to be is abiding with Jesus.
We’ve just looked at seven different inspiring lives. People who are full of faith, people who are on fire for God. God is love. God is light. God is a consuming fire. And this is the first season. Thank you so much for joining us for the first season of The Bonfire. And as we wrap up the first season, where are we going next? We are going to dive into specific situations. We start out by telling seven broad stories in the Bible, different people and around the bonfire, we tell stories. That’s what we do. Now, the stories we’re going to shift into the next season are more specific, situations that you are in. And you might be wondering, what does God’s presence look like here? And how powerful is God’s revelation? And what are the misperceptions you have? What are the lies you’ve been holding onto?
What are the limiting beliefs that you harbor in your life? How can we shatter some of those myths and make room for God in our lives? And get really specific about the situations that we walk through and the difference that it makes to have God’s presence in our lives. Let’s make room for God and what he’s going to do in our lives together as we’re on this journey of faith, and it would be a gift and it would mean a lot. And in podcast world, I hear it’s significant. If you can rate, review, share this with friends, let’s invite more people in to the bonfire because of the bonfire, you have God’s love, his presence, his warmth, and it’s a place where you can gather the authentic. And we’re grown in our faith together. This podcast is focused on God’s presence. I hope it’s uplifting for you during the week. It just builds up your faith. So God can encourage, empower us, and we can make a difference in this world together. On fire for Jesus, living for his glory. Thanks so much for joining us with The Bonfire.
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