Acts 9:20-42

Recap:

We have been going through the book of Acts together!

We see as the Holy Spirit (the helper/perecletus) is given to the apostles the church is born and God begins working though his disciples…

As we got into chapter 6 and 7 we saw Stephen come on the scene… and get martyred for his faith

and then we saw the main character behind this persecution,

is a man by the name of Saul..

Saul of Tarsus…

And as we go into chapter 9 we see Saul confronted with who?

The Lord Jesus Christ in all His glory…

and Saul falls down, and he asks the Lord two questions:

1. Who are you Lord?

2. What do you want me to do?

And those two questions became the defining aspects of his life…

Lord I want to know you.

and Lord I want to do your will.

The Lord Jesus sends him to Damascus and while he is there he fasts and prays for three nights

While he’s there in damascus the Lord dispaches a certain disciple named Ananias…

We noted how this guy was just an average Joe…

He just loved the Lord Jesus and wanted to serve him…

he didn’t have any kind of crazy amazing call of God but he just served the Lord faithfully…

Just like any of us…

And that’s who the Lord wanted to use…

*We made the point that God desires to use all of us in a special way… the only limit being…

Where are we willing to go.

Are we going to say… like Isaiah “Lord Send Me!”?

The Lord sends Ananias and ananias is understandably worried…

He say’s, Lord… I’ve heard how much harm he has done to your saints in jerusalem.”

But the Lord tells him to go anyways because he wanted to use Saul in a powerful way.

So Ananias, goes to Saul lays his hands on him and tells him brother Saul, and be filled with the H.S. receive your sight…

And we made mention of the fact that Ananias demonstrated…

1. Faith…

He trusted the Lord and was obedient to the call

2. Forgiveness

“Brother Saul”

3. Fellowship

Disciples Saul

And then we read how the jews in Damascus plotted to assassinate Saul, and so he escapes to Jerusalem.

And when he got there… the disciples didn’t believe that he was really a sincere christian and they were afraid…

but a man by the name of Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles and vouged for him…

telling them how he had gotten radically saved

And we noted how we like Ananias and Barnabas should be ready to welcome people into the kingdom…

To come alongside them, to encourage them, to accept them and to love them.

V.

V.23

Acts 22:17–21

The Lord warned Paul.

V.

1. Peter ministers in the power of Jesus

2. Peter minister in the style of Jesus

If we look at Jesus in Mark 5:35-43 there are many similarities in this passage to that one…

Acts 9:39 “And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.”

The grief was deep…

It is always deeper for a good person

But Just like Jesus Peter put out the distractions.

3. Peter ministers for the glory of Jesus

v.34 “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you”

Peter clearly Identifies who heals him.

But more than just Peter being humble and pointing the glory to Jesus.

Peter’s ministering, the work that he did…

the entire goal of the healing itself was to bring people to Jesus.

v.42 “and it became known throughout all Joppa and many believed on the Lord”

V. 43

Peter lodges with this other dude named simon…

Simon and Simon

And beleive it or not this guy was an outcast

Almost always cerimonally unlcean because of the animals…

this was a big step for Peter who was a jew and used to following the law regarding cerimonial cleaness.

Pray.