Disciples Making Disciples Acts 9:10-20

DISCIPLES MAKING DISCIPLES

Acts 9:10-20

Introduction:  I was a little surprised this week when I saw a video online of George H.W. Bush getting a bucket of ice-water dumped over his head by Laura Bush, and then him “calling out” Bill Clinton!  The ice-bucket challenge has proven to be an effective plan for getting the word out about ALS and raising funds to battle a terrible disease, I think over $30 million to date. It was a clever use of social media to accomplish an impressive result. That has been an effective strategy!   Is God’s plan for the church an effective strategy?  From a human perspective, I would have to say it may have looked a little “iffy” at first. Remember Jesus started with a small group of followers, no marketing consultants, no church growth strategists. Just a rag-tag group of disciples who had abandoned him when he was arrested. And then he ascended into heaven and left them in the world to carry out his mission! People reaching people. Disciples making disciples.

                                                                     

The Big Idea:  God’s plan is for each of us to have a part in His program of making disciples. That means using our gifts to build each other up and reaching out to those who need to hear. He has one plan, working through one family, to proclaim one message…

I. One Plan: Disciples making Disciples (10-17a).  God has a plan for building the church and reaching the lost: us. That’s it. No plan “B”. No backup plan. Just “us”, you and me, and his people all around the world.

         Remember the Context to the passage we are looking at today. Saul was at the heart of the persecution directed against the church, even present and approving of the murder of Stephen. He was breathing out threats and murder against the church in Jerusalem, going door to door in search of the Christ followers. He was so zealous in his opposition to the church that he got permission to pursue the scattered believers to other cities and was on his way to Damascus, intent on bringing back in chains any “followers of the way” he could find. Nearing the city a light from heaven, and the voice of Jesus arrested him: “I am Jesus, who you are persecuting.” With that encounter Saul’s world was turned upside down. The Lord didn’t immediately send Paul out, but initially left him blind, he put him flat on his back so the only way he could look was up. That brings us to the text we’ll look at today, Acts 9:10-20.

Jesus had met Saul on the Damascus road, but notice here that he chooses to work through a certain disciple named Ananias to continue his work in Saul.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."  ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,  ¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." 

God’s work through Ananias was unique, for one thing, we don’t normally receive such specific verbal direction from God! Yet, at another level, it is an example we can learn from. Like Ananias, we need to be available, honest, and obedient to the Lord.

       Be Available: “Lord, here I am!” First, we see “a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias” receiving a vision from the Lord. We know little about Ananias, he seems to fade from the story after this scene. In the midst of a time of persecution and danger, he is spiritually ready to hear from the Lord. Last week I mentioned (or meant to!) a physical condition called tinnitus that has begun to bother me a bit. It probably resulted from years of operating heavy equipment when I was younger, not always with adequate hearing protection. When it is relatively mild it is a nuisance,  for some it can become an issue that impedes our hearing. There is a constant “noise” in the background, and to hear those around us they need to rise above the constant “din” in a person’s ears.  Spiritually speaking, the background noise of the world, the flesh, and the devil can impede our readiness to hear the still, small voice of God.  We can have “spiritual tinnitus!” We are easily distracted by the noise and aren’t ready to hear from God. Ananias was “tuned in”, he was listening and he was available, and when God spoke he discerned the Master’s voice and responded. We need to be listening and available for God to direct us and use us.

       Be Honest: “Lord I have heard…” i.e. “I’m afraid!” Ananias surely didn’t think that the Lord didn’t know the truth about Saul, he was simply being honest in terms of what he was feeling and thinking. Not Saul, Saul of Tarsus! He was at the heart of the havoc being wrought against the church! You want me to go to him?  We read in 9:13,14…

¹³ But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.  ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name."

In other words, Lord, I’m afraid of this guy! If I go to him, based on what I know, it is not going to go well for me!  Word about Saul had gotten to Damascus, the believers had heard what he was doing in Jerusalem, and may have even heard he was heading north, on his way to their city. And they were afraid. This kind of honesty is not rebuked by the Lord. He wants to meet us where we are, and to assure us, to teach us about trust and to deepen our faith in Him. Like Ananias we need to be available when God directs us, and we need to be honest with Him. We also need to be obedient…

       Be Obedient: “So, Ananias departed…” Jesus assured Ananias that He had a plan that included Saul. And Ananias trusted Him and obeyed, and went to Saul. Luke records the Lord’s reply and Ananias’ response in 9:15-17…

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.  ¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."  ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house.

The Lord said “Go” and after expressing his fears to the Lord Ananias is reassured by the Lord and he went. He obeyed what God was asking him to do. In the light of Saul’s history there was some risk here. The Lord had a plan for Saul, but did Saul know that? The Lord said “I will show him…” How would he react? There was no way for Ananias to know for sure what the immediate unfolding of this story would bring. It was risky, but he had to go and do as the Lord instructed him.  And there is a risk, of sorts, every time we seek to tell someone about Jesus. Usually, in this country, it is not fear for our life or fear of imprisonment. That does happen every day in other parts of the world. But still, it may not be pleasant, it may not go well.  
      Will they laugh at us? 
      Will they get angry? 
      Will they reject us and not want to be around us? 
     Might we lose a friend? Or, maybe, will they recognize their need and put their trust in Jesus?  
       It is not about us, it is about Him.  And it is His plan for each of us to have a part in His program. That means discovering our gifts to use in the church, for the building up of the body of Christ. And it means to be alert for those divine appointments, when we can point someone to Jesus, and give a reason for the hope we have in Him.

II. One Family: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (17b-19).

       “And laying his hands on him…”  - Consider this act. It wasn’t laying hands on him in the act of praying, but as he met him and began to speak to him. What is going on here? Saul was still blind, and instead of hearing a voice across the room where he would be unable to read the body language or see the eyes of the one speaking to him, he felt the welcoming hands of Ananias, and after all he had done, he heard a greeting he could have hardly hoped for. In some families and cultures “hugs” are normal, it’s a way of greeting that expresses welcome. It was the norm in Brazil, and for me, took a little getting used to! The hands of Ananias expressed “welcome” before his greeting confirmed it. This phrase is used in the context of praying for healing, it is also used of Jesus greeting the little children that came to Him, he “laid his hands on them.” It indicated acceptance and blessing. That seems to be what is happening here.

       “…he said, "Brother Saul…”  Can you imagine the impact that phrase had on Saul? Words of acceptance and grace, welcoming him as a member of a new family, united under the same Father.  We are a family! You are my brother! That means when we disagree or are hurt we don’t give up, we don’t run away, instead we seek reconciliation and extend forgiveness.  Sometimes it happens in families that relationships are shattered and people stop talking or don’t have anything to do with another. That’s sad when it happens. Usually, with our biological families, we eventually forgive and move ahead. Sometimes, in the church family, we find it hard to forgive and restore so that healing can happen. It’s too easy to find another church to attend, or if the church is big enough we can move across the aisle and not interact at all with the one who offended us. Sometimes people are mad at each other for years and decades, and may not even remember what caused the rift! That’s the flesh, not the Spirit. We’ve been forgiven, so we should be able to extend grace and forgive. By our love for one another the world can see that we are His disciples (see John 13:35).

       “…the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me…” The one and only Lord, the same one who appeared to Saul also appeared to Ananias. The language here emphasizes the integrity of God’s plan: the same Lord who appeared to Saul, spoke to Ananias and had sent him. Paul will say in one of his letters, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God who is Father of all…” If we have the same Father we need to love one another and build each other up.

        “That you might receive your sight and be filled…” Physical healing was part of God’s plan for Saul, and spiritual preparation as well, as he would be filled with the Spirit.  Question: Did God need Ananias to heal Saul and to mediate the filling of the Spirit? I don’t think so, but He chose to work through him and He has chosen to work through us, the body of Christ, to minister to the needs of His people.  The “one-anothers” of the New Testament are a constant reminder that God has designed us for community, to be part of a family. Most of us had someone who shared the gospel with us and led us to Christ. Many had someone who discipled us and helped us get started in the Christian life.  People reaching people. Disciples making disciples. One plan, using one family, God’s family.  John said in 1 John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has shown unto us, that we should be called the children of God, and such we are!”

       “…¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;  ¹⁹ and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.”  He was strengthened, certainly physically as he took food, and I am sure spiritually as well, as he stayed with the disciples and they discussed the Scriptures and prayed together.  God was preparing Saul for a new work. He was baptized, publicly affirming his new faith in Messiah Jesus. The apostle Paul becomes prominent in the second half of Acts. We don’t hear any more about Ananias, because it doesn't fit Luke’s purpose to tell us. But Paul will have a key role in the foundation of the New Testament church.  God’s plan is for each of us to have a part in His program of making disciples. That means using our gifts to build each other up and reaching out to those who need to hear.  One Plan. One Family. One Message.

III. One Message: It’s all about Jesus (20). ²⁰ And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

          He started in the synagogues, a place where people had studied the scriptures and were prepared to hear the truth. Well, at least some of them were. That would be his procedure throughout Acts. Paul would enter a city, and if there was a synagogue, he would start there, preaching Jesus as Messiah. The radical conversion of Saul had to add power to his testimony. You just couldn’t explain away what had happened to him. The poster boy of the persecution had now become a preacher of the gospel!

          And notice the message that he preached. It wasn't health and prosperity. It wasn't “what’s in it for me”. He preached Jesus. More than that, he preached correct theology: Jesus is the Son of God.  The very claim that got Jesus in trouble with the Jewish leadership was now at the heart of Saul’s message. Most cults go awry at exactly this point: Who is Jesus?  If they claim he was merely a prophet or a good teacher, or even the highest of created beings, but they deny his deity, they are wrong, their message falls short. Saving faith means believing that Jesus is who he claimed to be, and trusting in His finished work as our only hope of salvation. One Plan. One Family. One Message.

What is God saying to me in this passage? God’s plan is for each of us to have a part in His program of making disciples. That means using our gifts to build each other up and reaching out to those who need to hear.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? This is first of all, as we noted last week, a story about Jesus. He is building his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!  We see at the start an example of a radical, unexpected transformation. Saul the persecutor, becomes a missionary and apostle for the Lord.  It was a personal encounter with Jesus and a supernatural transformation by the power of God .Secondly, we are reminded that God works through his people, both in helping to disciple new believers and in reaching those who need to know Him.  Do you realize that you are a part of that team? We had a visit Wednesday evening from one of our missionary couples, Dan and Sharon Guimond. They had served in Africa in the past, and God used them there. But for New Tribes to be successful in what it does, they need support personnel in the US, where they can train pilots and mechanics, and that is what they are currently providing in Arizona. We are not all called to be overseas missionaries or to speak before large crowds like Franklin Graham. But each of us has a part in God’s mission. If He has saved you, He has gifted you. He has entrusted us with a mission. Let’s get to work.                                AMEN.