Chosen

Introduction

Last week we talked about being witnesses to God’s grace working in others. This week we will visit choosing and being chosen in ministry. There are two paths in this passage and Saul experiences both. Two paths are before Saul and two paths are before us. One path leads down the path we chose and one path leads down the path God chooses.

---------------------------------------

—Saul’s Journey

Path 1 - Saul Chose his ministry. He witnessed these followers of The Way or followers of Jesus.

He witnessed these disciples defying the ruling council and stirring up people.

He witnessed these disciples teaching and preaching a different way.

He witnessed these disciples not having the right credentials or training to be teachers

He knew these were simple ordinary people who had no qualifications.

He knew in his mind they were wrong and decided after witnessing Stephen’s death to take this mission on himself.

Saul chose to be a righteous persecutor of Jesus followers

Saul truly believed he was choosing the right path for his life.

Saul believed God would approve of his mission.

People around Saul supported or maybe even influenced him to choose this path of persecuting Christians

We hear of Saul’s teacher (Gamaliel) in Acts 5 giving advice to not act rashly on these followers of Jesus. Perhaps he was also telling Saul to watch this group and when they were able to kill Stephen, perhaps both Gamaliel and Saul took this as a sign to pursue this path of stamping out followers of Jesus Christ.

Path 2 - God chose ministry for Saul

Saul had received commissioning or permission from the ruling council to pursue and arrest any followers of Jesus Christ. He was on the path that he and his mentor had chosen. God had a different path for him to take.

Saul was riding towards Damascus when a bright light from heaven shone down and he fell to the ground and was blinded. Jesus Christ spoke directly to him and gave him new path. Stop persecuting disciples of Christ and go wait for further instructions.

He was blind and fasted from food and water for 3 days while waiting these further instructions. While he was fasting and praying, Jesus spoke to him again that Ananias, one of Jesus’ followers, was coming to lay hands on him and pray that he might see again. This vision was fulfilled and he was baptized and immediately began to preach Jesus is the Son of God.

Saul chose to persecute Christians yet Christ chose Saul to preach to the Jews and Gentiles proclaiming Jesus in the Son of God. Saul failed in the path he chose for himself. Christ gave him a new path and a new mission he would be powerfully effective at.

Saul became an apostle of Jesus and was a missionary to the rest of the world.

----------------------------------------

—Our Journey

Path 1 - We try to make conformed Christians

In some ways we follow the original path Saul did.

We try to figure out on our own what we should be doing for God.

Maybe others we respect also tell us or influence that path we choose for ourselves.

This goes both ways. In other words, if we look at Saul’s teacher Gamaliel, he sought to make Saul just like the rest of his students.

We sometimes go down this same path with trying to help others be like the image of a Christian we think they should be like. They should be like us, act like us, etc.or we have some image we think they should be like or act like to be the Christian God wants them to be.

We sometimes with the influence of others or because of the influence of others choose a path for ourselves thinking this is the right path for us.

Sometimes we choose the wrong path for our mission of God. Sometimes we influence others to choose the wrong path for their mission of God.

I have a friend that was witness to what many others around him were feeling called to. We encouraged him to pursue this same calling we were pursuing. He followed the same path I did in trying to become a pastor of a church and did so for a few years. Yet in the end, he realized this was not the right path for him. He is now back to what he was doing well and serving God in the way God wants him to.

In some ways we look at others and attach ourselves their mission for God thinking it is a good idea for us also pursue to attach ourselves to. However, this does not mean this is the right path God wants us to be on. There is a difference between God choosing our path and us choosing our own path.

Path 2 - We let God shape people as individual and diverse Christians

I know in my own path, I also had a path I wanted to follow and then had another path God chose me for.

I loved youth ministry and tried hard to stay in that path. While I learned much and grew much, it was not the path God wanted me on after a while. I really loved preaching for teens so I thought I could pursue becoming a lay speaker where I could preach at any church for any youth group.

Instead God began laying on my heart there was something else. While trying to pursue may certified lay speaker training, doors were being shut and I could go no further. When I went in frustration to the district superintendent to complain about being blocked on completing this training, I was asked whether I had considered being called into pastoral ministry.

I prayed about it and knew this was the right path. Where there were blocked paths before, the path was clear and wide open for me to pursue pastoral ministry. I went from struggling for a year to find a way to take the right courses to things falling in place. I had this conversation with the DS during the summer and by the fall I was in my orientation and by winter I was chosen to serve at Asbury and finished my licensing school training by May just in time to start serving by the end of June. This journey had taken a year and all roadblocks were removed.

Sometimes this is the way it happens with pursing the right patch versus the wrong path. If you find yourself frustrated and blocked, ask God for clarity and discernment. Sometimes we choose the wrong path because we want to attach ourselves to others who are doing well. In other ways, others influence us to choose the wrong path because they think it is what should be pursued and is what they know to be right for them. In the end though, consider what God is saying in the midst of all your thoughts and conversations with others. In the end, the path forward is in God’s hands.