Introduction
      Over the course of American history, there are words that have either been written or said which have been seared into the American consciousness, and they have become a part of our American vocabulary.

      In 1970, another saying became a part of our American vocabulary.  It was when Jim Lovell, the captain of Apollo 13 said the words, “Houston, we have a problem.”  The difficulty to which Lovell referred was caused by an explosion of oxygen tank No. 2 in the service module of the space craft.  The result was that the mission had to be scrapped.  It became obvious very quickly that the crew would not complete its mission and make it to the moon after all, and there was serious question as to whether or not they would even be able to return to Earth.
      The primary problem was that with the explosion the spacecraft was off course as it came around the moon and headed back toward Earth.  A carefully timed and executed mid-course correction was essential, or the three astronauts aboard would die as Apollo 13 entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a wrong angle and burned to a crisp.  A correction of this kind was no small task given all the other problems, such as minimal electricity and unreliable computers.  Remember, this was 1970!  After some hasty but brilliant brainstorming, a 39-second “burn” of the thrusters was attempted, and the delicate process of getting the spacecraft on the right track was completed to perfection.  The result was a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, much to the relief of everyone who witnessed it on television.    
      Gordon MacDonald has written[1] that in the world of space exploration, a mid-course correction is a refinement of the direction of the space vehicle so that it will reach its intended destination.  However, he suggests, the words “mid-course correction” have spiritual significance, too.  There are times in our lives when we need a mid-course correction to get us back on the right path with God.
      Just ask Saul of Tarsus about what happened to him on the road to Damascus.  As we shall see in our study this morning, Saul experienced a mid-course correction which resulted in a profound reorientation to his whole life that led to a redirection of everything he did.  As we reflect on these things today, I want you to consider with me: the preaching of Saul; the plot against Saul; and the predicament of Saul.  

I. The Preaching of Saul
      You will recall that last week Keith led us through a study of the first part of Acts 9 which describes Saul’s remarkable encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.  He was on his way with letters from the Sanhedrin to the synagogues in Damascus in order to arrest followers of Christ in that city and extradite them back to Jerusalem to stand trial.  However, as he neared Damascus, he was knocked to the ground by a flash of light and was struck blind.  Jesus called out to him and asked, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” 
      “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. 
      “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.  Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (9:4-6).
      Saul was led by the hand to Damascus where he stayed for three days during which time he ate and drank nothing.  Then God sent Ananias to Saul to restore his sight and bring him into the family of faith. 
      This amazing event led to an amazing change.  We are told in our text that at once Saul began to preach in the synagogues and that Jesus was indeed the Christ.  The antagonist became the protagonist.  The persecutor became a proclaimer.  Right from the start, Saul became a powerful witness and defender of the faith so that he was able to baffle the Jews living in Damascus with his persuasive message.  No one could defeat his arguments. 
      Whenever we encounter the risen Christ, it should show up in what we say and the way we live.  However, too many Christians have made a commitment to follow Jesus, but you would never know it by looking at their lives.  This is to our shame.  When Saul encountered the living Christ, his life was changed forever, and he would never be the same again.  At once he began to tell others about the change. 
      James Boice[2] has said that the new birth in Christ is a lot like physical birth.  In a physical birth a baby is created in the womb of the mother, and this new life grows and grows, until the moment of birth arrives.  And when the baby comes out of its mother’s womb, the first thing the baby does is cry.
      I remember when our oldest son Nate was born in Alexandria, Virginia.  Lorie and I had never experienced anything like this before.  When Nate came out of Lorie’s womb, all scrunched up and messy with a ruddy color, the doctor didn’t even have to touch him before he started to wail.  The moment his lungs took in oxygen for the first time, he let out a cry from deep in his soul.  Lorie and I grinned from ear to ear.  Babies are supposed to cry when they are born; if they don’t, we know something is wrong.
      The same is true spiritually.  God’s Word is planted in our hearts, either over a period of time or all at once, and we have an encounter with the living Christ and are born again, as Jesus said.  Regardless of how you came to know Jesus, at some point when you experience a new birth, you should begin to cry out as a new babe in Christ.  If you don’t, then something is wrong.  There has to come a moment when you and I begin to verbalize what God has done for us which demonstrates that the Holy Spirit has truly taken up residence in our hearts.  If we don’t, we should wonder how real the new birth actually is.
      This change should also show up not only in what we say but also in the way we live our lives, and we should question our discipleship if you and I live just like the rest of the world.  After Saul’s conversion, he experienced a profound change, not only in what he said but also in how he lived.  The Lord Jesus was his new boss and preaching became his new job.  He would never go back to his former way of life.
      Where are you this day, my friend?  As a child of God, do you cry out and proclaim the good things God has done for you, or has the evil one got your tongue and kept you in silence?  Are there things in your life which you know you need to stop doing because they are leading you down the wrong path, and what are the new things you need to start doing that will honor the Lord in a new way?  Is it time for a mid-course correction in your life? 

II.  The Plot Against Saul
      It is not surprising that opposition arose against Saul and his preaching.  You will recall that when Ananias protested God’s call to go to Saul after his conversion, God told Ananias that Saul was His chosen instrument to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, but He also added, “I will show [Saul] how much he must suffer for My name” (9:16).   Over the course of his life, Saul was beaten eight times for his faith, once he was pelted with rocks and left for dead, and he was put in prison for his commitment to the Lord.  Tradition tells us that eventually Saul was beheaded in Rome by order of Caesar – all for his commitment to Christ. 
      However, his sufferings for the name of Jesus began very soon after his conversion.  When he began to proclaim the good news of God’s love in Christ there in Damascus, we are told that the Jews conspired to kill him.  However, Saul learned of their plot, and he and his friends devised a plan of their own.  While the Jews kept a close eye on the gates of the city day and night, Saul’s friends lowered him in a basket in an opening in the wall, and he was able to escape under the guise of night and left for Jerusalem. 
      You and I enjoy such great freedoms in this country of ours.  Freedom of religion is codified in our Bill of Rights.  In some ways, it is hard for us to imagine the kind of opposition of which we read here.  However, there are brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who have to deal with the same kind of persecution with which Saul did in Damascus. 
      Last weekend, Lorie and I were in Dallas for a wedding and an installation service at the church where I used to serve.  While we were there, we got to hear a young man who had been in my college ministry many years ago and who for the last 20 years has been a missionary in China.  He spoke during the worship services and then at a luncheon after church.  For security reasons, I can’t tell you his name, but I will refer to him as Joe and his wife as Donna. 
      Joe and Donna, along with their four children, are undercover missionaries in China, and they have a powerful ministry of reaching out to nationals through teaching English and one-on-one discipleship.  During the question and answer period at the luncheon, Joe was asked about the spiritual climate in the country. They wanted to know if the reports are true that we read from time to time of the persecution of Christians there.  He assured us that the reports are indeed true, and he and Donna have to be very careful how they go about their ministry so that they don’t compromise the safety of the people to and with whom they minister. 
      He said that God is moving in a powerful way and that the church in China was exploding with growth, despite the government crackdowns.  He also predicted that this century was going to be the century of China and that God was going to use the church there in a significant way to take the gospel to the whole world.  However, this will not be without cost along the way. 
      Joe told us that Christians in China are suffering for their faith, and the chances of being arrested, tortured, and even killed are great for believers in the underground churches.  In many Chinese churches, as a part of their discipleship, new converts to the faith are asked several questions before they are baptized, much as we do here in our church in the States.  However, in addition to being asked if they acknowledge Jesus as their Savior and Lord and their dependence on Him for their salvation, new believers are also asked “Are you willing to die for Christ, if necessary?”  This is the last question they are asked before they are baptized.  It tells these new brothers and sisters in no uncertain terms right from the start that they may have to pay a price for their faith. The leaders of the church in China want to make sure these new believers fully understand what they are getting into by becoming a Christian.
      The opposition you and I encounter here in the States is much more subtle, but it is present nonetheless.  Our opposition ranges from being snubbed by some people, to ridicule by journalists, or slurs by professors in class, and in some instances even lawsuits.  I personally believe that in the years to come we will face opposition to Christianity in an increasing way in this country, despite the religious freedom our Constitution guarantees.  Jim Wallis reminds us in the quote on the cover of the bulletin that our dependence on God is always personal, but it should never be private.  I believe a battle will be waged over the exercise of religion in this land.  Are you ready to suffer for Christ, if necessary, as was Saul?

III.  The Predicament of Saul
      The text tells us that when Saul fled Damascus, he went to Jerusalem.  However, when he arrived and tried to seek out other Christians, they were understandably afraid.  “Isn’t this the man who took part in Stephen’s death?  Isn’t he the one who left here with letters from the Sanhedrin to arrest Christians in Damascus?  His conversion isn’t real; he’s just trying to trap us.”
      It took a person like Barnabas to overcome the suspicion.  He reached out to Saul and befriended him, and it wasn’t until Barnabas extended the right hand of Christian fellowship that Saul found his way into the church in Jerusalem.  We need more people like Barnabas who are willing to reach across barriers and welcome the newcomer.  We need more folks with a heart of compassion who will push past suspicion and embrace the stranger.
      As I reflected on this predicament of Saul earlier in the week, it caused me to remember the early days after Chuck Colson’s conversion back in the 1970s.  You will recall that he was a shrewd and ruthless politician who was special counsel to President Nixon during the Watergate scandal.  By his own admission, he was so committed to the president that he said he would even run over his own grandmother if it meant getting Nixon reelected.  Colson spent time in prison as a consequence of his part in Watergate, yet God reached out to him and transformed his heart even there in prison.  Today, he is the founder and president of Prison Fellowship, and his powerful books have been read by millions of people. 
      When Colson became a Christian, many people were suspicious.  They said, “He’s just doing it to get a lighter sentence.  It’s not real.  How can a person so ruthless become a follower of Christ?”  However, his conversion was indeed genuine, and because of people like Doug Coe and one of my professors from seminary, Richard Lovelace, who reached out to him when no one else would, Chuck Colson became a powerful influence for Christ.  The transformation that took place in his life is nothing short of miraculous.  Like Saul, he was knocked down, and he turned around 180 degrees from the direction his life was headed.  His priorities changed, his heart softened, and he became a new man.  If it can happen to a person like Saul, if it can happen to Chuck Colson, it can happen to you!
      Eventually, Saul’s enemies got after him in Jerusalem, too, and they planned to kill him as well.  When the believers heard of this, they took Saul to Caesarea and sent him to his home town of Tarsus where he stayed for several years before launching his international ministry of outreach.  John Stott has written, “The story of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 begins with him leaving Jerusalem with an official mandate from the high priest to arrest fugitive Christians, and [it] ends with him leaving Jerusalem as a fugitive Christian himself.”[3]  How ironic.  The persecutor became the persecuted. 

Conclusion
      Dante Alighieri, the 14^th century poet from Florence, was 35-years-old when he wrote The Divine Comedy.  He penned the words during a very difficult season of his life.  Everything was in a state of meltdown.  Dante had been on the losing side of a failed revolution, and as a result he was exiled from his beloved city of Florence.  He knew that if he ever returned, he would be put to death.  The result was a life suddenly flooded with enormous uncertainty, doubt, and fear.  He was a man who was drowning in disappointment, and he discovered it was time for a mid-course correction. 
      You can see Dante’s state of mind when you read the first words of The Divine Comedy:

These words describe something of a personal awakening in which the poet’s eyes were opened to things that he had either forgotten or never seen before.  Dante’s dark forest was not a literal forest but a figurative one.  His forest existed deep in the interior of his life. 
      Perhaps this morning you find yourself in a similar place.  Like Dante, like Saul, like Apollo 13, you’ve discovered you’re on the wrong road, headed in the wrong direction, and you’ve lost your way.  Forests can be things of our own making or situations over which we have no control, but they all can be used of God to help us to come to our senses. 
      Where are you this morning?  What is God saying to you?  How do you need to change, and what is God calling you to do?  Don’t put Him off, don’t wander deeper into the forest.  Come to your senses, and come to Jesus.  He loves you and He wants to help you find your way.  Open your eyes and see His outstretched hands.  He’s waiting for you. A mid-course correction is just what you need.  Amen.