The Outcome of Obedience

August 21st 2022

Series:The Book of Acts

Sermon Title:The Outcome of Obedience

Topic:Journey through the book of Acts.

Key Passages: Acts 9:1-31

Sermon Blurb: One faithful act of obedience could change the world. We will look at the obedience of Ananias and how one faithful act of obedience changed Christianity and the world.

Sermon:

Welcome back as we continue our study of the Book of Acts.

If you’re new or newer to Family Church, we are so glad you are here…

Over the last several weeks, we have been studying the Book of Acts in the bible.

We’re walking through Acts

…verse by verse,

…chapter by chapter,

…story by story

to see what God wants to say to us.

PAUSE

And we parked for a couple of weeks, on one person in particular

BUT NOT just any person… we focused in on the most influential Christian to ever live.

Does anyone remember his name?

Saul of Tarsus …or as we know him, The Apostle Paul.

If you missed the message on how Saul became Paul through a personal encounter with Jesus… I encourage you to go to our website or app and listen to that message.

PAUSE

But let’s do a little recap on Saul so that no one feels left behind today.....

When Saul is introduced in the Bible, he steps onto the scene as a young leader, who is part of an anti-Jesus movement.

He’s presented as the guy who approved of the killing of Stephen.

We unpacked that episode in a previous message,

Stephen was the first Christian martyr...... the 1st Christian to die for his faith in Jesus.

And Saul is the ‘mob-boss’ who is watching and approving Stephen’s public execution....

PAUSE

From that episode, Saul goes around from town to town to persecute Christians all over the region.

I know this might sound controversial.... but it will get the point across....

You all know the marches we saw in 2021.......

The destruction....

All for what some would call “good causes.”

That is what Saul was doing.

Traveling from town to town.

To destroy what he saw as bad....

To get people to convert to his cause....

To push his agenda and destroy others' lives....

And Saul, just like the organizations that did it in our country through 2021 were affective with their message, Saul was affective and gained quite a reputation.

He becomes known as the ‘Hitman’ who is out to get all Jesus-followers.

Saul was so passionate about his cause to eradicate the Jesus-movement because Jesus’ movement called to question everything, he held dear in life!!!!

Saul thought Jesus’ movement directly undermined what Saul cherished and lived for.

Think the marches for the pro-choice groups....we saw when the Supreme Court leaked....

PASSION to destroy anything that does not support your world view....

That is nothing new...

That was Saul as well...

PAUSE

Saul even gets support, he gets official approval and sanction, from the religious leaders to go and crush Christianity.

PAUSE

Make no bones about it, Saul was a bad dude.

I mean, IF ANYONE is beyond saving, it’s this guy.

It’s Saul.

There’s no way God could get a hold of him

… he’s just too far gone,

… he’s too caught up in his movement,

… he’s a lost cause.

In fact, he’s the enemy of the Christians.

I’d imagine the Christians of his day, weren’t so much praying for Saul’s salvation…. but they were praying against Saul’s harmful agenda.

It’s sort of like the way some of us pray for people in our lives.

Those people who offend us, violate our principles, or mistreat our kids.....

Let’s just be honest, it’s hard to pray for certain political officials with a pure heart… and it’s even harder to believe that God could ever reach them.

No one in their wildest dreams would’ve imagined what would happen next with Saul.

PAUSE

Grab you Bible and open it to Acts 9 and let’s read this story.....

Verse 1,

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 (Saul) 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.

Pause right here

…WHOA!

You have got to be kidding me!

Is this a joke?

Are you telling me a story?

Am I dreaming?

There’s NO WAY that man could change!

And later in the book of Acts, we will see that many Christians had that same concern....

They questioned the sincerity of Saul’s conversion… whether it was genuine or a strategy so he could locate Christians.

PAUSE

But Saul has a personal encounter with the Resurrected Jesus… and EVERYTHING changes!

Saul’s ENTIRE life is flipped upside-down because of one genuine encounter with Jesus!

One moment in the presence of Jesus, one encounter with the power of God…

Saul is brought to his knees and his entire perspective changes, in just moments.

And his pursuits change as well!

He puts down his anti-Jesus badge and becomes a follower of Jesus!

write this down:

Jesus wants to shift our perspectives, our priorities, and our pursuits to align them with His.

*repeat

And he does that when we acknowledge Jesus’ lordship.

And we see this in Saul’s encounter… Look at verse 5,

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

Lord was not a common term or title given anyone.

This word, Lord, indicates a positional understanding of Who Saul was talking to.

Saul recognized in that moment that he was directly speaking with God.

PAUSE

And this encounter impacts Saul so much so, that he’s going to move from being a religious bounty-hunter to redeemed by grace.

…from despising Jesus to devoted to Jesus!

…and eventually, he’s going to move from persecuting Christians to preaching about Christ!

PAUSE

This radical, 180-degree turnaround is ONLY possible through the power of God at work in the heart of a person.

Many of you here today could stand up and testify about personal encounters with the Lord Jesus.

And every one of you would agree that the power and grace of our great God at work in you is the only reason you have become who you are!

It is a personal, undeniable encounter with Lord Jesus that changes a person from the inside-out.

…And Saul had this type of encounter with Jesus.

PAUSE

So, let me ask…

…….Is there someone in your life who is so far from God, that it would be a miracle if they ever turned to Jesus?

Is there someone you can think of that is so cruel, so wicked, so evil, so anti-Jesus, so far lost…that you doubt God could ever save?

Often, we believe the lie, that a person is beyond God’s help…

A person is too far gone,

there is NO WAY under heaven that Jesus could ever reach them,

they could ever change.

In your notes, there’s a blank line followed by this statement.

___________ is not beyond God’s ability to reach and save.

What I want you to do, is write down the name of the person you’ve given up on.

It may be someone you know personally

…a prodigal child

…an abusive parent

…an addicted sibling or friend

…an Ex-spouse

OR, it may be someone you do not know personally

…a celebrity

…an influential person

…the CEO of the company

…a political figure

We should not only pray for protection from our enemies, we should also pray salvation for our enemies.

In fact, they aren’t even OUR enemies, but God’s enemies.

Do you know who else was once God’s enemy?

YOU!

You and I were once enemies of God.

But what happened???

Well, when we were at our worse, God reached out and saved us!

And if he did that for you and me, he can do it for anyone.

Even the worse person you can think of.

Even someone like Saul.

PAUSE

And to make things even better, God doesn’t only save us, but He also placesus on the straight path… He puts purpose inside of us

By the time Saul, who became the Apostle Paul, was martyred for his faith in Jesus, about 32 years later, he had written about 25% of the New Testament!

Paul's written words are the testimony of a man that violently persecuted the early Christians, then became NEW in a matter of moments when he encountered Jesus!

The most influential Christian to ever live was changed in a matter of moments because of a personal encounter with Jesus.

NO ONE is beyond saving

NO ONE is too far from God’s grace

And if they have a genuine encounter with Jesus… that can change everything!

LONG PAUSE

Last weekend, we answered the question, “What is the point of the Church?”

We learned that the purpose of the Church is to reach people for Jesus… period.

PAUSE

In the time remaining today, we’re going to learn about someone who lived that out in a very real way.

Someone who obeyed God even when it was difficult.

Someone who lived into their purpose… the purpose of reaching people for Jesus.

Someone who could’ve said “no” to reaching people for Jesus, but obeyed

…and because of this guy, countless people were reached for Jesus.

I’m not talking about Saul… but that someone who we will focus on today, is the person who reached Saul for Jesus.

PAUSE

We just read about the encounter that Saul had with Jesus, and how that moment changed everything for Saul.

But Jesus was not finished!

Jesus didn’t save Saul and then leave him to his own to figure things out.

Jesus began a work and continued the process.

Jesus gave Saul specific instructions.

Verse 6,

6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Do you see it?

Jesus isn’t finished yet… he has something more for Saul to experience.

So, let’s keep reading

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.

Pause right here

Saul encounters Jesus.

He is physically blinded, and Jesus tells him to go into the city and when you get there, you’ll be told what he must do.

But Saul isn’t alone.

He’s got some traveling companions who are also benefiting from Jesus’ presence.

PAUSE

Look back at verse 7, there were other men with Saul who heard Jesus’ voice but didn’t see anything.

So, they too were impacted by Jesus’ presence.

…It says, they were speechless by what occurred.

Saul had a posse!

A group of guys sanctioned by the religious leaders, to go along with Saul to eradicate Christianity.

So, these fellas are just like Saul.

And what is awesome is Jesus meets them as well.

They were also impacted by an encounter with Jesus.

So, write this down

The presence of Jesus changes some but challenges all.

We don’t know for sure, but it is likely that they too were saved.

In fact, they assist, they escort Saul to the destination Jesus gave… which means they were challenged by Jesus’ presence and voice AND, they don’t know it yet, but they are about to see a miracle.

This is why we invite people to church… because even when someone beside you encounters Jesus, it has the potential to impact others as well.

When Jesus’ presence and power is present, everyone notices.

PAUSE

And one side note here…

Saul was hunting Christians down to harm them, but Jesus was hunting Saul down to help him!

Saul thought he was going to Damascus to hunt down Christians and hurt them.

But Jesus changes Saul’s itinerary!!!!

Saul, still heading to the same city he set out for, but now with a different pursuit!

PAUSE

And with that, enters the scene a new character…

Verse 10

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.”

Pause right here

Ananias enters the scene as a man who is simply walking with God.

A praying man.

A respected man amongst the community.

A believer in Jesus.

A follower of the Way.

AKA… Ananias was the exact type of person Saul had set out to persecute.

And Jesus comes to Ananias in a vision… meaning Ananias was given a spiritual insight which he could perceive what Jesus was speaking.

PAUSE

So, imagine for a moment, you are Ananias.

You have heard all the rumors about Saul.

You have heard about all the persecutions happening.

Maybe you’ve even experienced a little persecution.

And God comes to you in a vision

God clearly and plainly reveals to you, that you are requested to make a personal visit to the guy who has the power to crush you.

The guy who has the desire to crush you

The guy who has the authority to completely crush you, your family, your career, your business, your reputation…

God tells you to go find that guy, and then, put your hands on him and pray for him.

What would you do?

Most of us would question the vision… doubt the spiritual insight… and some of us would not obey God.

Minimally, even the best of us, would wrestle with this.

And that is precisely what Ananias debates.

Keep reading…

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.”

Ananias was well-informed about Saul.

He knows that the religious leaders have granted him their approval and authority to persecute Jesus-followers.

He has heard reports about the harm done to others.

…and now, he is debating with Jesus, as if Jesus doesn’t already know what Saul has done.

Be honest, don’t we act like that sometimes as well?

God places something or someone on our hearts and we debate with God as to whether we should or should not do it.

We tell God all the reasons and excuses why not to.

PAUSE

So, Jesus responds to Ananias’ concerns and says in verse 15,

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.”

Jesus says, Ananias, I didn’t studder!

This is not up for a debate.

You heard me right the first time.

GO!

GO to Saul and pray for him.

And then, Jesus tells Ananias how Saul will “suffer much for Jesus.”

I don’t know this for sure, but maybe Ananias, like many of us, maybe he was a little glad when he learned that Saul wouldn’t escape his sins without punishment.

Maybe that helped Ananias get motivated.

I mean, this horrible persecutor, who has hurt a lot of good people… at least there’s vindication.

At least Saul is going to reap what he has sown.

God is going to get him back, make him suffer a little, make him feel bad for all the things he did.

Maybe you’ve felt that way before toward someone who has hurt you.

And if that’s you, what is remarkable about our God is that even when we have a mixture of motives, even when we have some impure agendas, God still uses us to accomplish His plans!

He still does impossible things in and through us.

God’s patience with us is remarkable.

Again, we don’t know for certain if Ananias had any impure attitudes or thoughts against Saul… but it would seem highly probable.

As human beings, I think we can all relate to that.

PAUSE

Either way, Ananias obeys Jesus… and that single act of obedience is huge!

In verse 17

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 spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

Write this down… and this is the main point I want everyone to hear today

One faithful act of obedience could change the world!

*repeat

Ananias didn’t want to.

He didn’t feel like it.

He was afraid.

He was concerned.

He could’ve said “no.”

But he obeyed.

And because of his faithful act of obedience, Saul comes to know the Lord Jesus, is filled with the Spirit of God, and will go on to reach the known world for Jesus!

PAUSE

What is the purpose of the Church?

What is the purpose of each Christian?

It is to share Jesus with other people.

Ananias shared Jesus with Saul and Saul shared Jesus with millions of people throughout his ministry, writings, and witness.

PAUSE

On the screen is a picture of two men

Some of you may recognize the gentlemen to the right

Do you know who that is?

The late Reverend Billy Graham.

Most of us know or have at least heard his name.

Rev. Graham is the most influential preacher to live in the last 100 years.

He has led millions of people to Jesus through his evangelistic crusades, he stood side by side with the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, he influenced presidents, and has inspired many.

The guy to the left of the pic, however, isn’t quite as familiar

Does anyone know who he is?

Maybe a couple history buffs or well-churched people…but not many of us know his face or name.

His name is Mordecai Ham.

Ham too, was a successful preacher and evangelist.

Now, the reason I put this picture up is because Mordecai Ham was the person who led Billy Graham to Jesus.

And what’s amazing about their story is that Mordecai Ham didn’t even remember Billy Graham.

He couldn’t recall the young lad’s conversion moment.

But to his grave, Rev. Graham honored Mordecai Ham for being obedient to preach the Gospel and to share Jesus with others.

PAUSE

So, what about you?

Do you obey Jesus?

Do you share Jesus with others?

What if you are the person to lead someone to Jesus who would impact the world?

I get it…sharing your faith isn’t always easy, convenient, or fun.

The truth is it can be difficult for a lot of us.

Because it forces us to move beyond our comfort zones

…and that can be hard.

And throw in forgiving someone who has hurt you (like Saul), that makes it even more difficult.

But that is what we are called to do

…And if we will faithfully obey, there is no limit to how God can use each of us.

PAUSE

So, here’s our life application

Life Application: Whose name did you write down that is beyond God’s help or saving? This week, pray every day, by name, for that person. And if given the opportunity, share Jesus with them.