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JOYFUL CHANGE - ALBERT ELISHA OBERDORFER - SAMPLE

God’s goodness leads to true repentance. In scripture, we always see the same picture. People follow Jesus gladly because they have experienced His goodness. Zacchaeus is a prime example. So are many more. The blind man who received a miraculous healing of his eyes, in Luke 18, for example. How did he react once he had received his sight? He followed Jesus. (Luke 18:43) We see the same picture on the day of Pentecost. Peter preached the good news of Jesus Christ. Then the people were touched in their hearts and asked, “What shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38). And how did the people respond? “Then those who gladly received his word got baptized ...” (Acts 2:41) The point is: they got baptized because they received Peter’s word “gladly.’ This is the biblical way of repentance. It’s a joyful change.

God’s goodness leads to true repentance.
In scripture, we always see the same picture.
People follow Jesus gladly because they have experienced His goodness.
Zacchaeus is a prime example.
So are many more.
The blind man who received a miraculous healing of his eyes, in Luke 18, for example.
How did he react once he had received his sight?
He followed Jesus. (Luke 18:43)
We see the same picture on the day of Pentecost.
Peter preached the good news of Jesus Christ.
Then the people were touched in their hearts and asked, “What shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38).
And how did the people respond?
“Then those who gladly received his word got baptized ...” (Acts 2:41)
The point is: they got baptized because they received Peter’s word “gladly.’
This is the biblical way of repentance.
It’s a joyful change.

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The Goodness of God<br />

Leads to Repentance<br />

<strong>JOYFUL</strong><br />

<strong>CHANGE</strong><br />

1<br />

<strong>ALBERT</strong> <strong>ELISHA</strong> <strong>OBERDORFER</strong>


2


TRUE REPENTANCE.<br />

TRUE BIBLICAL repentance is willing<br />

repentance.<br />

Take Zacchaeus, for example.<br />

He willingly restored what he had<br />

wrongly taken by fraud.<br />

“Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to<br />

the poor; and if I have taken anything<br />

from anyone by false accusation, I restore<br />

fourfold.” (Luke 19:8)<br />

Take the people on the day of Pentecost,<br />

for example.<br />

They had just listened to Peter’s sermon.<br />

And then we read how they reacted.<br />

“Then those who gladly received his word<br />

were baptized; and that day about three<br />

thousand souls were added to them.”<br />

(Acts 2:41)<br />

Take note: they “gladly received his<br />

word.”<br />

In other words, willingly.<br />

Or take the Samarian believers in Acts 8.<br />

3


We read that Philip performed many<br />

miracles in that city.<br />

“5 Then Philip went down to the city of<br />

Samaria and preached Christ to them.<br />

6 And the multitudes with one accord<br />

heeded the things spoken by Philip,<br />

hearing and seeing the miracles which he<br />

did.<br />

7 For unclean spirits, crying with a<br />

loud voice, came out of many who were<br />

possessed; and many who were paralyzed<br />

and lame were healed.<br />

8 And there was great joy in that city.”<br />

(Acts 8:5-8)<br />

And then we read,<br />

“But when they believed Philip as he<br />

preached the things concerning the<br />

kingdom of God and the name of Jesus<br />

Christ, both men and women were<br />

baptized.” (Acts 8:12)<br />

When they believed, they got baptized<br />

both men and women.<br />

I am sure willingly.<br />

And gladly.<br />

Because there was much joy in that city<br />

because of the miracles that God had<br />

performed.<br />

4


That is what true repentance is.<br />

It takes place when a person has<br />

experienced the goodness of God.<br />

Paul himself was at the receiving end of<br />

God’s goodness.<br />

He also experienced total forgiveness of<br />

sins.<br />

So he understood true repentance.<br />

That is why he could write,<br />

“Don’t you know ‘that the goodness of<br />

God leads you to repentance?’” (Romans<br />

2:4)<br />

5


6


LAW DOESN’T HAVE<br />

CONVERTING POWER.<br />

MANY BELIEVERS overestimate the<br />

power of the law.<br />

I used to be one of them.<br />

They think that the law has the power to<br />

convert people.<br />

They think that if you can just confront<br />

people—with what they have done wrong,<br />

or what they should have or should not<br />

have done—then you can bring them to<br />

repentance.<br />

But the law does not have that power.<br />

The law can make people feel guilty. Yes.<br />

The law can make people aware of their<br />

sin. Yes.<br />

This is what Paul says in Romans 3.<br />

“19 Now we know that whatever the law<br />

says, it says to those who are under the<br />

law, that every mouth may be stopped, and<br />

all the world may become guilty before<br />

God.<br />

7


20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no<br />

flesh will be justified in His sight, for by<br />

the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans<br />

3:19-20)<br />

But that is all that the law can do.<br />

The law cannot really bring people to<br />

repentance.<br />

True repentance.<br />

Heartfelt repentance.<br />

This is what only the goodness of God can<br />

do.<br />

8


9


10


It is the<br />

goodness of<br />

God that leads<br />

to repentance.<br />

11


CONTENTS<br />

TRUE REPENTANCE. 3<br />

LAW DOESN’T HAVE CONVERTING POWER. 7<br />

1 JESUS DIDN’T COME WITH JUDGEMENT. 15<br />

2 THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES NOT COERCE. 19<br />

3 THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH. 21<br />

4 REPENTANCE. 25<br />

5 EXAMPLES. 27<br />

6 WHAT JESUS IS TO US, HE IS THROUGH<br />

US. 33<br />

7 ONE DIED FOR ALL. 37<br />

8 FAITH. 41<br />

9 MIRACLES. 45<br />

10 BEHAVIORAL <strong>CHANGE</strong>. 49<br />

11 REPENT. 53<br />

12


13


14


1 JESUS DIDN’T COME<br />

WITH JUDGEMENT.<br />

THE PHARISEES were not happy with<br />

Jesus.<br />

Because in their understanding, he wasn’t<br />

judgemental enough.<br />

In fact, Jesus wasn’t judgemental at all.<br />

He refused to judge.<br />

This upset them.<br />

When Jesus is in the house of Simon, a<br />

Pharisee, a woman comes along.<br />

Jesus allows her to touch Him.<br />

And when she touched Him, I can<br />

imagine that the most wonderful anointing<br />

started to flow from Jesus to the woman.<br />

The presence of Jesus.<br />

This caused the woman to cry.<br />

Profusely.<br />

Because she was experiencing the<br />

goodness of God, at the feet of Jesus.<br />

15


While this happened, the Pharisees that<br />

were there in the house missed their<br />

chance of an encounter with Jesus.<br />

Because they were steeped in judgment.<br />

Simon thought in his heart,<br />

“This Man, if He were a prophet, would<br />

know who and what manner of woman<br />

this is who is touching Him, for she is a<br />

sinner.” (Luke 7:39)<br />

We know that in His kindness, Jesus then<br />

proceeded to talk to Simon as well.<br />

To teach him.<br />

But the point is this.<br />

The Pharisees expected Jesus to be an<br />

arbitrator of the law.<br />

They expected Jesus to treat people<br />

according to their history.<br />

But Jesus did not.<br />

He treated people according to their<br />

destiny.<br />

And this did not sit well with the<br />

Pharisees.<br />

They continually found fault with Jesus<br />

for being merciful instead of judgemental.<br />

See what they are saying.<br />

16


They criticize him for being a friend of<br />

sinners.<br />

They called Jesus,<br />

“a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of<br />

tax collectors and sinners!” (Luke 7:34)<br />

They try to hit Jesus’ disciples saying,<br />

“Why does your Teacher eat with tax<br />

collectors and sinners?” (Matthew 9:11)<br />

They criticize Jesus for healing on the<br />

Sabbath.<br />

“This Man is not from God, because He<br />

does not keep the Sabbath”(John 9:16),<br />

they say.<br />

But why did Jesus do all this?<br />

Jesus was out to save souls.<br />

And He knew that it is the goodness of<br />

God that leads people to repentance.<br />

Not judgment.<br />

17


18


2 THE HOLY SPIRIT<br />

DOES NOT COERCE.<br />

THIS IS a characteristic of God.<br />

He relishes free will.<br />

Because only if people have the free will<br />

to choose, then love can flow.<br />

Love doesn’t flow anymore if there is an<br />

element of coercion.<br />

19


20


3 THE LAW IS NOT OF<br />

FAITH.<br />

THIS IS the point.<br />

The law can make people feel guilty.<br />

It can make them aware of their sins.<br />

But it cannot impart faith to them.<br />

Paul was very conscious of this when he<br />

came to the Corinthians.<br />

He made sure that he just didn’t preach<br />

with “enticing words of man’s wisdom”<br />

without demonstrating the goodness of<br />

God.<br />

He knew that more was needed than plain<br />

discussions to unsettle the Corinthians<br />

from their Greek mindset.<br />

So Paul demonstrated the power of God’s<br />

Spirit.<br />

He reminded the Corinthians,<br />

“1 And I, brethren, when I came to you,<br />

did not come with excellence of speech or<br />

of wisdom declaring to you the testimony<br />

of God.<br />

21


2 For I determined not to know anything<br />

among you except Jesus Christ and Him<br />

crucified.<br />

3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and<br />

in much trembling.<br />

4 And my speech and my preaching were<br />

not with persuasive words of human<br />

wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit<br />

and of power,<br />

5 that your faith should not be in the<br />

wisdom of men but in the power of God.”<br />

(1 Corinthians 2:1-5)<br />

If you can explain things with your logical<br />

mind, then you don’t need faith.<br />

But when you see a real miracle, it doesn’t<br />

fit anymore in your standard way of<br />

thinking.<br />

It hopefully makes us aware of the<br />

goodness of God.<br />

22


23


24<br />

Italian!


4 REPENTANCE.<br />

THE WORD repentance in Greek means<br />

‘to change your mind.’<br />

The Greek word is ‘metanoia.’<br />

Yummy!<br />

25


26


5 EXAMPLES.<br />

WE SEE this over and over in the<br />

scriptures.<br />

When people experienced the goodness of<br />

God, they repented.<br />

The blind man on the way to Jericho, for<br />

example.<br />

My spiritual father, Leif Hetland,<br />

writes masterfully about this event in<br />

the opening passage of his amazing<br />

book, “Seeing From Heaven’s Eyes: A<br />

Worldview That Will Transform Your<br />

Life.”<br />

After the blind man has received a<br />

miraculous creative miracle, how does he<br />

react?<br />

He reacts in the only way that makes<br />

sense when people have experienced an<br />

authentic touch of Jesus.<br />

We read,<br />

“And immediately he received his sight,<br />

and followed Him, glorifying God. And<br />

all the people, when they saw it, gave<br />

praise to God.” (Luke 18:43)<br />

27


In Acts 8 we read,<br />

“But when they believed Philip as he<br />

preached the things concerning the<br />

kingdom of God and the name of Jesus<br />

Christ, both men and women were<br />

baptized.” (Acts 8:12)<br />

But what had gone on before that?<br />

Healings.<br />

That is always a demonstration of God’s<br />

goodness.<br />

Because healings, like everything else in<br />

the Kingdom of God, are undeserved.<br />

They ought to create in people an<br />

awareness of the goodness of God.<br />

So in Acts 8, this is what had preceded.<br />

We read,<br />

“5 Then Philip went down to the city of<br />

Samaria and preached Christ to them.<br />

6 And the multitudes with one accord<br />

heeded the things spoken by Philip,<br />

hearing and seeing the miracles which he<br />

did.<br />

7 For unclean spirits, crying with a<br />

loud voice, came out of many who were<br />

possessed; and many who were paralyzed<br />

and lame were healed.<br />

28


8 And there was great joy in that city.<br />

(Acts 8:5-8)<br />

How did the woman at the well of<br />

Samaria in John chapter 4 react, after<br />

Jesus had revealed to her that He is the<br />

Messiah?<br />

Note: During His whole ministry, Jesus<br />

often told His disciples not to tell anyone<br />

who He was.<br />

Yet, He reveals Himself openly to that<br />

single Samarian woman.<br />

Why?<br />

He must have seen her heart.<br />

And why did she react the way she then<br />

reacted? (She mobilized the whole village<br />

to come to hear Jesus.)<br />

Because she must have experienced a<br />

wonderful touch of the presence of Jesus.<br />

The bible is full of such examples.<br />

The story of Zacchaeus, for example.<br />

Miraculously, Jesus invites Himself to<br />

Zacchaeus’ house.<br />

Why Zacchaeus?<br />

Again, Jesus must have seen Zacchaeus’<br />

heart.<br />

29


This is one of the mysteries in the<br />

Kingdom of God.<br />

And did Jesus come with judgment?<br />

Jesus didn’t say one word about any of<br />

Zacchaeus’ misdeeds.<br />

Jesus showed Zacchaeus love.<br />

True unconditional non-judgemental love.<br />

And we know the impact this had on<br />

Zacchaeus.<br />

This is the New covenant pattern we are<br />

to follow.<br />

We are to reveal the world around us the<br />

goodness of God.<br />

Is this truly scriptural?<br />

Yes, it is.<br />

30


31


32


6 WHAT JESUS IS TO<br />

US, HE IS THROUGH US.<br />

WHAT JESUS is to us, He is through us.<br />

In other words, what we experience will<br />

flow through us.<br />

If we experience a lot of judgment<br />

coming towards us, we will be naturally<br />

judgmental towards the people around us.<br />

If we experience love, we will be loving.<br />

If we are harboring hurt and<br />

unforgiveness, hurt and unforgiveness will<br />

flow through us as well.<br />

But is it really scriptural that we preach<br />

and demonstrate to people that God is<br />

good?<br />

That God does not hold their sins against<br />

them?<br />

Is that New Covenant?<br />

Or are we better off if we preach the law?<br />

What we see with Jesus is this.<br />

To those who already knew their need, he<br />

didn’t touch on the law.<br />

33


He extended the full measure of His grace.<br />

Take the woman caught in adultery.<br />

The Pharisees thought that they had<br />

finally caught Jesus in a trap.<br />

Yet Jesus extended the full measure of His<br />

grace to her.<br />

Only in cases where the Pharisees brought<br />

up the law, Jesus responded with the law.<br />

And in what is well known as the sermon<br />

on the mount.<br />

In this sermon, Jesus presented the law on<br />

steroids.<br />

Why?<br />

To strip the listeners of their selfsufficiency.<br />

To strip them of their trust in being able to<br />

keep the law in their own strength.<br />

But what about the teachings of the<br />

apostles?<br />

What did they say about how we ought to<br />

preach the gospel?<br />

34


35


36


7 ONE DIED FOR ALL.<br />

IN 2 CORINTHIANS 5, Paul talks about<br />

reconciliation.<br />

The truth about reconciliation is this.<br />

It requires 2 parties for reconciliation to<br />

take place.<br />

And this is the point.<br />

From God’s side, He has already done<br />

everything necessary for reconciliation to<br />

be possible.<br />

This is the revelation of 2 Corinthians 5.<br />

“14 For the love of Christ compels us,<br />

because we judge thus: that if One died<br />

for all, then all died;<br />

15 and He died for all, that those who live<br />

should live no longer for themselves, but<br />

for Him who died for them and rose again.<br />

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no<br />

one according to the flesh. Even though<br />

we have known Christ according to the<br />

flesh, yet now we know Him thus no<br />

longer.<br />

37


17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is<br />

a new creation; old things have passed<br />

away; behold, all things have become<br />

new.<br />

18 Now all things are of God, who has<br />

reconciled us to Himself through Jesus<br />

Christ, and has given us the ministry of<br />

reconciliation,<br />

19 that is, that God was in Christ<br />

reconciling the world to Himself, not<br />

imputing their trespasses to them,<br />

and has committed to us the word of<br />

reconciliation.<br />

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for<br />

Christ, as though God were pleading<br />

through us: we implore you on Christ’s<br />

behalf, be reconciled to God.<br />

21 For He made Him who knew no sin<br />

to be sin for us, that we might become<br />

the righteousness of God in Him. (2<br />

Corinthians 5:14-21)<br />

So, if we know this, what should our<br />

message to the world be?<br />

Should it be: God punishes you right now<br />

for your sins, and He will punish you even<br />

more if you do not repent?<br />

Or should it be: There is a good God who<br />

already has dealt with your sins. God<br />

38


already sent Jesus to pay the full penalty<br />

for your sins (on the cross). Now, God’s<br />

arm is outstretched towards you.<br />

He longs for you to be reconciled to Him.<br />

He has already done everything needed so<br />

you can be reconciled to Him.<br />

Will you turn (repent) and be reconciled<br />

to Him?<br />

Will you receive the gospel?<br />

39


40


8 FAITH.<br />

IN HIS AMAZING grace, God has sent<br />

Jesus to remove our sin and shame on the<br />

cross.<br />

To believe this requires faith.<br />

Everyone understands the law of ‘tit for<br />

tat.’<br />

If you hit me, I will hit you.<br />

If you are nice to me, I will be nice to<br />

you.<br />

“If you do good, and you will get good; if<br />

you do bad, and you will get bad.”<br />

This is not hard to understand.<br />

This is what everyone understands easily.<br />

You do not need faith to believe that.<br />

But you need faith to believe that God<br />

would “justify the guilty.”<br />

That he would acquit them.<br />

To believe this, you need to have faith.<br />

And this is precisely the problem with the<br />

law.<br />

41


42


“The law is not of faith.” (Galatians 3:12)<br />

It is all based on self-effort.<br />

But the problem with self-effort is this.<br />

Self-effort alienates you from the<br />

workings of the Holy Spirit.<br />

If you trust in self-effort, you are left to<br />

your own devices.<br />

And you will hopefully realize, after some<br />

time, that you need help.<br />

That you need grace.<br />

That you need a savior.<br />

That you need Jesus.<br />

That you don’t cut it on your own.<br />

43


44


9 MIRACLES.<br />

JESUS IS so clear about this.<br />

He says if you don’t believe me for what I<br />

am saying, believe me for the miracles.<br />

Miracles are part and puzzle of how the<br />

Kingdom of God operates.<br />

Why?<br />

Because miracles ought to demonstrate to<br />

people that God is good.<br />

You can’t deserve a miracle of God.<br />

God works miracles based on faith.<br />

“1 O foolish Galatians! Who has<br />

bewitched you that you should not obey<br />

the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ<br />

was clearly portrayed among you as<br />

crucified?<br />

2 This only I want to learn from you: Did<br />

you receive the Spirit by the works of the<br />

law, or by the hearing of faith?<br />

3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the<br />

Spirit, are you now being made perfect by<br />

the flesh?<br />

45


4 Have you suffered so many things in<br />

vain—if indeed it was in vain?<br />

5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to<br />

you and works miracles among you, does<br />

He do it by the works of the law, or by the<br />

hearing of faith?—<br />

6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it<br />

was accounted to him for righteousness.”<br />

(Galatians 3:1-6)<br />

So in His ministry, Jesus made sure that<br />

He had a miracle testimony.<br />

He made sure that people experienced<br />

miracles.<br />

And those miracles hopefully would<br />

convince them of the goodness of God.<br />

Which then hopeful would lead them to<br />

repentance.<br />

So if you examine how Jesus was<br />

working, you will see that His ministry is<br />

a miracle ministry.<br />

On every page of what we call the<br />

gospels, we find miracles upon miracles.<br />

And those miracles didn’t stop with Jesus.<br />

They continued with the disciples.<br />

We see that in Acts.<br />

And they are to continue into our days.<br />

46


Not only continue, but increase.<br />

Because miracles ought to show people<br />

the goodness of God.<br />

That is the purpose of a miracle.<br />

47


48


10 BEHAVIORAL<br />

<strong>CHANGE</strong>.<br />

WHEN PEOPLE experienced the<br />

goodness of God, they then changed their<br />

behavior.<br />

Experiencing the goodness of God leads<br />

to true repentance.<br />

For example in Ephesus,<br />

“11 Now God worked unusual miracles<br />

by the hands of Paul,<br />

12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons<br />

were brought from his body to the sick,<br />

and the diseases left them and the evil<br />

spirits went out of them.<br />

13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish<br />

exorcists took it upon themselves to call<br />

the name of the Lord Jesus over those who<br />

had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you<br />

by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”<br />

14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a<br />

Jewish chief priest, who did so.<br />

15 And the evil spirit answered and said,<br />

“Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who<br />

are you?”<br />

49


16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit<br />

was leaped on them, overpowered them,<br />

and prevailed against them, so that they<br />

fled out of that house naked and wounded.<br />

17 This became known both to all Jews<br />

and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear<br />

fell on them all, and the name of the Lord<br />

Jesus was magnified.<br />

18 And many who had believed came<br />

confessing and telling their deeds.<br />

19 Also, many of those who had practiced<br />

magic brought their books together and<br />

burned them in the sight of all. And they<br />

counted up the value of them, and it<br />

totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.<br />

20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily<br />

and prevailed. (Acts 19:11-20)<br />

I remember an event from my own life.<br />

After I had come to the Lord and<br />

experienced a real conversion (I also<br />

received the Holy Spirit), I also made<br />

restitution.<br />

Not because I was forced to do it.<br />

I did it because I wanted to do it.<br />

Actually, nobody suggested to me that I<br />

should do it.<br />

50


It was a sum of about 50,000 Austrian<br />

Schilling (about 5,000 USD).<br />

In my school days, one of my friends had<br />

shown me how to steal from shops.<br />

At first, I only did it when we were<br />

together, but then at one stage, I started to<br />

steal stuff from a big sports shop alone.<br />

For 2 years, I stole sports ware from that<br />

shop.<br />

I was never caught, and no one knew<br />

about this.<br />

After I had come to the Lord, the Holy<br />

Spirit prompted me to go back to that<br />

shop and report in the office what I had<br />

done and express my desire to pay the<br />

money back.<br />

Which I then did.<br />

The people in the office were super<br />

amazed by why I would want to do this.<br />

I did tell them that I had become a<br />

follower of Jesus and wanted to pay<br />

restitution.<br />

But the point is this.<br />

Nobody told me to do this.<br />

It was all purely the work of the Holy<br />

Spirit in my heart.<br />

51


52


11 REPENT.<br />

PETER received the Holy Spirit on the<br />

Day of Pentecost.<br />

Then, empowered by the Holy Spirit, he<br />

preached Jesus to the crowd.<br />

When they heard the message about<br />

Jesus’ death and resurrection, and they<br />

were touched in their hearts, they asked<br />

Peter and the other apostles a question.<br />

“Men and brethren, what shall we do?”<br />

(Acts 2:37)<br />

Then Peter answered.<br />

“38 Repent, and let every one of you<br />

be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ<br />

for the remission of sins; and you shall<br />

receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.<br />

39 For the promise is to you and to your<br />

children, and to all who are afar off, as<br />

many as the Lord our God will call.”<br />

(Acts 2:38-39)<br />

In Acts, we then see that when people<br />

believed they also got baptized.<br />

Like on the day of Pentecost.<br />

53


We read,<br />

“Then those who gladly received his word<br />

were baptized; and that day about three<br />

thousand souls were added to them.”<br />

(Acts 2:41)<br />

This is so important.<br />

That when people come to the Lord and<br />

get baptized, they do it gladly.<br />

This shows that their repentance is real.<br />

If someone tries to coerce people to turn<br />

to the Lord or get baptized, that person<br />

hasn’t understood true repentance yet.<br />

Paul, the apostle, seemed to need a little<br />

nudging.<br />

Ananias said to him,<br />

“And now why are you waiting? Arise and<br />

be baptized, and wash away your sins,<br />

calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts<br />

22:16)<br />

But in Paul’s case, Paul had already had a<br />

life-changing encounter with Jesus on the<br />

road to Damascus.<br />

An encounter in which he heard the voice<br />

of Jesus.<br />

And Paul was also so blinded by Jesus’<br />

glory that he couldn’t see for 3 days and<br />

54


nights, and only regained his vision when<br />

Ananias laid hands on him and prayed for<br />

him.<br />

So, in Paul’s case, it was right for Ananias<br />

to nudge Paul a little.<br />

Take another case.<br />

That of the prison keeper in Philippi in<br />

Acts 16.<br />

The prison keeper also experienced a<br />

miracle.<br />

Even before he heard the gospel of Jesus<br />

through Paul.<br />

The scripture says that when the<br />

earthquake occurred, the prison doors<br />

sprang open, and the prisoners’ chains<br />

were loosed.<br />

And the prison keeper was about to kill<br />

himself because he thought that all the<br />

prisoners had escaped.<br />

But Paul called out to him, “Do yourself<br />

no harm, for we are all here.” (Acts<br />

16:28)<br />

How did Paul know that the prison keeper<br />

was about to kill himself?<br />

He must have known by the Spirit.<br />

55


This then makes it very plausible why<br />

the prison keeper then acted the way he<br />

reacted.<br />

And we read that after hearing the gospel<br />

from Paul and Silas, he and his household<br />

all got baptized.<br />

In the middle of the night, way after<br />

midnight.<br />

We also see a miraculous dimension in<br />

the story of Stephen and the eunuch from<br />

Ethiopia in Acts 8.<br />

Phillip was told by an angel to go down a<br />

particular road. Then the Holy Spirit also<br />

instructed him to join the chariot of the<br />

Ethiopian eunuch.<br />

Right at this moment, the eunuch read the<br />

passage of Isaiah, chapter 53.<br />

We see many such miraculous events in<br />

Acts.<br />

This shows that the Holy Spirit was<br />

involved when the disciples in Acts<br />

preached the gospel.<br />

There was a miraculous aspect involved<br />

whenever people came to the Lord in<br />

Acts.<br />

It was never just a natural occurrence.<br />

This is how God ordained it.<br />

56


Even today.<br />

So that when people come to the Lord,<br />

they genuinely repent because they have<br />

had an experience with God.<br />

Because it is the goodness of God that<br />

leads to true repentance.<br />

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Joyful Change: The Goodness of God Leads to<br />

Repentance.<br />

Copyright 2020 © Albert L. Oberdorfer<br />

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be<br />

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,<br />

in any form or by any means, electronical, mechanical,<br />

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the<br />

written permission of the author.<br />

PICTURE CREDITS<br />

Unless otherwise stated all images are courtesy of<br />

Pexels.com. and Pixabay.com. The image on the back<br />

cover is from the author. Any inadvertent omissions can<br />

be rectified in future editions.<br />

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