FROM THE DUST TO THE DESPERATE: A MAN APART
#212a FROM THE DUST TO THE DESPERATE: A MAN APART
Scripture Acts 9:1-20, NIV Orig. 1/21/1962
Rewr. 5/23/1979
Passage: Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.
Purpose: To call attention to the clear declaration of Scripture of the process of conversion and commitment and setting apart of the believer that is contained in the gospel message.
Keywords: Christ Commitment Conversion
Timeline/Series: Acts
Introduction
Several years ago a Broadway play appeared on the scene called Merrily We Roll Along. It was written by a playwright by the name of Richard Miles. While the author had become successful in terms of his profession, his ideals had suffered greatly, and his life-style had become shameful and degrading.
The play depicted Miles’ life in reverse. Each successive scene showed the actors getting younger. The role representing the playwright became more and more idealistic. The action of this drama travelled back into the past, until finally, the characters in the play were sharing Miles’ college commencement. Richard Miles was the class valedictorian. As the final curtain went down, Miles was saying, “Lastly, this I have learned: I have learned to value ideals above all else. Let them be our heritage, our guiding force.”
The essence of the play declared that the man looked back with regret to the losing of his ideals. They could not be sustained against the temptations to achieve personal success. This was a burden under which Saul was living. He was determined to be a success. The idealistic upbringing and training of a young rabbi had by now been so compromised, that he yielded unthinkingly to the dictates of those he wished to impress.
Meanwhile Saul was still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and applied for letters to the synagogues at Damascus authorizing him to arrest anyone he found, men or women, who followed the new way, and bring them to Jerusalem, NEB.
Saul’s thinking was not far removed from that of George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright. The agnostic Shaw wrote: I am by nature and destiny a preacher. . . . But I have no Bible, no creed; the war has shot both out of my hands. The war has been a fiery forcing house in which we’ve grown with a rush like flowers in a late spring following a terrible winter. And with what result? This: That we have outgrown our religion, outgrown our political system, outgrown our strength of mind and character. The fatal word “not” has been inscribed into all our creeds. . . . But, what next? Is “no” enough? Is “no” enough? For a boy, yes; for a man, never. . . . I must have affirmations to preach. . . . The preacher must preach the way of life—Oh, if I could only find it!
It’s too bad about George Bernard Shaw. He never found it. But out on this Damascus road this day, Saul will discover. He will discover what ideals are all about. He will discover what it takes to turn his ideals into reality. He will discover the “way of life” and that “way” will become what the preacher in him must preach.
I. First of All, a Claim is Extended. V6, And he, trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” And the Lord said unto him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do.” In blindness we grope. Make no mistake about it, here is a genuine encounter with the Lord of life. It is a matter for marveling to discover how adequate to the here and now God’s working always is.
When I share an extensive coverage of my own testimony, it is blocked out in segments of time roughly paralleling my pastorates. In the first, I had to come to terms with what I would preach. “We would see Jesus.” In this one I have had to learn to trust God to work through problems of church leaders who are not church lovers.
No matter how distasteful the experience is, the end-result is one of growth and spiritual nurture. The Christian life is not unlike those early, formative days in a baby’s life when he has wearied of wallowing and begins to walk. He grows. He is nurtured. A step is taken. A fall. A word of comfort and affirmation. He is encouraged to try again. A step. Then two. With many falls and several hurts, and sufficient affirmation he is on his way.
There then begins to develop a life of form and substance. Go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do. There is this initial act of faith unto obedience. John 14:22, One of the disciples, Judas, not Iscariot, asked Jesus how he would make himself known to his followers and not to the world in general. V23, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and he will come unto him and make our abode with him.
From this initial act of faith there springs the circumstance out of which we grow as Christians. In the city he encountered that which affirmed him in his initial act of faith. It became increasingly more to his advantage to seek and follow the course of God’s will. It is important that we affirm each other. The more settled we are in faith, the more determined to be faithful to our Lord, and supportive of others who are still in discovery. It is essential that we accept the Word of God as the basis of our authority. This means that confrontation is sometimes the appropriate means of affirmation. We are responsible for our advice. It better be thought through very carefully when you speak or act against those whom God has called to give spiritual affirmation.
II. Secondly, a Change is Essential. V8, And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes opened he saw no man: But they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. The change was rather a dramatic one. He, at first, was on his way to Damascus to discomfit any who had become followers of Christ. He experiences the presence of the Living Christ. Now, he is on his way to Damascus for others of these followers of Jesus to affirm him in the faith. That doesn’t mean to lay their hands on him, or to ordain him to the ministry, or vote him into the church. You see, God laid his hands on Saul, and that is all that any of us need, or have any right to expect.
The change came about by virtue of Saul suspending his own will in the will of God. Galatians 1:13f, For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church . . . beyond measure, and tried to destroy it. . . . 15, But when he who had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me. . . . 23, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.”
You see, the only miracle that had taken place was that a man had lifted his vision from himself and his own ego needs, to the vision of his loving, merciful heavenly Father. This would be a good place to stop and insert what God has done for you this week.
III. Lastly, Then, a Commitment is Inevitable. V20, And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. With Saul it was unquestionably a commitment to Christ. V5, “Who art thou, Lord?” How often Paul identifies himself as the servant. Romans 1:1 and others: δοῦλος, “doulos.”
He uniquely feels forgiveness. Christ will mean little to you if you do not experience His forgiveness for your sin. The greater the sense of forgiveness, the deeper the impact of Christ upon the life. Remember the sinful woman in the house of Simon the Pharisee, Luke 7:47, For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.
Acts 1:8 Witness unto me
Acts 2:36 God hath made that same Jesus both Lord and Christ
Acts 3:26 God having raised up His Son Jesus
Acts 4:30 Signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus
Acts 5:30-32 Raised up Jesus, exalted Him to be prince
James Stewart, in his book, A Man in Christ1, writes, “Everyone who has experienced a great forgiveness, everyone to whom the love of Christ has meant all the difference between victory and defeat, between radiant happiness and despair, will understand the spirit in which Paul spoke of himself as Christ’s ‘slave.’ The ransomed soul was bound to its Ransomer. No demand that Jesus could make would be too great. Life’s crowning joy would be to toil unceasingly for the One who had saved him from death and from something worse than death. With glad heart Paul acknowledged himself a bondman to the greatest of all masters. He was slave: Jesus was the Lord.”
But don’t make the mistake of presuming that the commitment is easily made, or for that matter is always made for Christ as Lord. There have been many who refused to turn from their vaunted “Damascus Roads” even at the intercession of Jesus. Judas lived and studied and even prayed with Jesus for three years, but his own will in the end destroyed him. He refused to accede to the will of God. And I remind you, God did not have to reach out in anger and strike Judas. His discordant heart destroyed [him]. And today, even though the evidences of Jesus’ integrity are clearer than ever, people in huge numbers are refusing to believe, to accede to God’s will.
Links and references
Man in Christ (https://pmoser.sites.luc.edu/jsstewartarchive/Stewart%20ManInChrist%201935.pdf), P. 302.
1 Stewart, J. (1935). A Man in Christ: The Vital Elements of St. Paul's Religion. Regent College Publishing.
THE COURSE OF SELECTIVE GRACE
#781/027 THE COURSE OF SELECTIVE GRACE
Scripture Acts 9:1-9, 17-18, NIV Orig. 3/4/1962
Rewr. 8/25/1977
Passage: 1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
Vv 17-18
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
Purpose: To define the careful selectivity of God’s grace coursing through the lives of people who are open to Him.
Keywords: Conviction Gospel Grace Revival Saul/Paul: Biography
Introduction
Human discretion takes a strange course sometimes. Our minds, even redeemed minds, can play tricks on us. We can conceive of something in a totally different light than it actually is.
I remember a story told by Paul Harvey on one of his programs some years ago. It seems that this man was awakened in the dark hours of the night when something hairy crawled onto his skin. I suspect many of us have been through that experience and we probably remember causing quite a commotion. This man will never forget the night he made the Paul Harvey program. He jumped out of bed with a start, half yelled, and half shoved his wife off the bed on the other side, and then went to work. He grabbed up the bed covers with the thing inside, and headed for the front door. On the way he spied his son’s baseball bat and grabbed it up. Reaching the front lawn he threw the bed covers to the ground and began flailing away at the thing.
After several minutes of this commotion, with neighbors attracted by it, he ceased his death dealing blows. Satisfied that his mission had been accomplished, he carefully turned back the covers until he found “it.” As it turned out, “it” was one badly mangled hair curler. He went back to bed, having given his family and friends the best laugh they had had in some time.
Human discretion often takes strange courses. God’s discretion takes carefully plotted courses. His purpose is to see His grace establish itself in our lives with transforming effect. The simple illustration from our text is taken out of the life of a man called Saul of Tarsus. The effect of grace on his life was that he became the apostle Paul.
I. Grace Brings Conviction. Acts 9:1, And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. You will note first of all that the initial activity is God’s activity. How often this is confirmed in the scripture. Acts 9:15, He is a chosen vessel to me. John 15:16, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. Matthew 25:34, Come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
But Paul’s initial reaction was to get busy with things with which he was secure. You see, Paul found in life, much as we do, that it is easier to be religious than it is to be godly. No matter how busy he may get, sooner or later he is going to have to deal with the hard issues of repentance, and faith.
Illustration: Saul is following in the footsteps of Moses and many others in learning the course of selective grace. After Israel’s sin with the calf, God isolated Moses. God’s men go through those experiences of isolation. When He spoke to Moses He said (Exodus 33:19), “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” What Moses had to learn of the “goodness” of God, and his surrender to that “goodness,” Saul would also have to learn. That’s where repentance and faith storm the gates of our souls.
It is often in that area of our lives that we know best that God chooses to manifest His grace. See Moses with a “shepherd’s staff” in his hand, and watch as that staff becomes an instrument. See David with a crown on his head, and watch as that crown crumbles to insignificance before the Lord of glory. See Isaiah with contempt for the nations, until Uzziah, and behold Isaiah seeing “the Lord” and saying “here am I, send me.”
II. Grace Brings Compulsion. V6, And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, What will thou have me to do? It is God’s compulsion to a full and happy life for the one chosen. There are two warnings to consider: a) not to grow prideful in the fact of our choice; b) not to become arrogant at the thought that some are not chosen. It is God’s will in both. Illustration: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious; I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” It is one thing to believe that this is what God wants and intends for His children. Philippians 4:19, My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ.
Illustration: I heard (see also #195) the story of an old farmer who only had a mule and an ox, and for ground-breaking often had to plow them together. The ox decided he was working too hard and determined to play sick. The mule would not agree and had to plow alone. The farmer brought hay, feed, and water to the sick ox. “What did Farmer Brown say?” “Nothing.” Second day. “How’d it go?” “Not too good. We’re worn out.” Third day. “What happened today? Did the old man say anything about me?” “I didn’t hear him say anything, but he did stop and have a long talk with Butcher Jones.”
Illustration: In the gospel account, Jesus went to the fig tree and found it barren. He then placed a curse on it. You remember, however, that this was not an expression of anger on the part of Jesus, but contempt. It was contempt for what had ceased to perform its natural purpose. The same kind of contempt was placed upon Adam in the form of the curse. He would now work for what he could have owned by faith before.
It is in this compulsion for a full and happy life that we are set apart to serve. Illustration: Saul, without this setting apart, was a dedicated religious fanatic. Nothing more. Aside from this, however, this setting apart likewise is God’s means of making His grace operable in the world. Through this, others are selected as recipients of this grace. Illustration: The same salt that seasons our food, and freezes our ice cream, preserves flesh from decay. And the “salt of the earth” is meant to preserve a society dying in sin. Christ came into our tightly organized, dying culture to save us, to preserve us from the wrong choices, from the decay of carnality.
III. Selective Grace Brings Constraint. Vs. 17-18, And Ananias went his way . . . and putting his hands on him . . . immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received his sight forthwith. . . . It is important that we understand the major factors called truth. Saul had spent the first thirty years of his life in the courtyard of truth. He knew the all-encompassing issues of the life-giving Jehovah God. He knew also, from personal experience, the death-dealing temptations of sin.
But Saul, as a religious Jew, was lost. Philippians 3:5f, . . . of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
There is a major factor called truth that permeates this sensual century. That truth still proclaims Jesus, Lord. Truth as a philosophical discussion is without redeeming value. One and one is two. Hydrogen and oxygen in proper mixture do form water. Jimmy Carter is President of the United States. Evangelical churches have stood through the long years on the principle of the authority of the scripture.
But the constraint of the gospel message is to the individual to share and to receive. Ananias was under constraint to share: He was the Lord’s vessel. Saul was under constraint to receive the message: To believe. To repent. To become what only he could become—Paul, prince of the apostles of the first century congregation of believers.