The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous. Psalm 146:8
People can have a shared experience and view it very differently. God
does that for a reason. God allows us to experience things in our own way
because He loves each of us uniquely; not necessarily in a measured way, like
more or less, just in a favored way. It’s a way favored especially for each one
of us. Each of us can say that we are uniquely favored by God because we are
specially created for whatever purpose He has for us.
Two men can see things very differently depending on their
perspective, and then find themselves seeing things much differently when Jesus
enters the arena. The encounter these men have with the risen Christ can be
found in Acts 9. I have chosen to continue the study to show that while Jesus
has ascended into heaven He still has kept His promise to us: “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matt.
28:20b
We know that the
church, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, had two events happen. It
began to grow, and it suffered great persecution. You cannot have one without
the other. The martyrdom of Stephen had already happened, and a young man,
Saul, had participated in it by holding the coats and inciting the angry mob
who performed the deadly act. Perhaps not getting enough credit for his role in
it, because he didn’t throw a stone, he became zealous for the blood of the
Christians.
Then
Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and
asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any
who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to
Jerusalem.
We are introduced to
this great persecutor of the church bent on the destruction of every man,
woman, and child who swears allegiance to this sect that threatens his way of
life. He is bloodthirsty, villainous, and ready to harm anyone who gets in his
way. His agenda is clear. He wants to rise to the top of leadership within his
career path. Killing a few menacing sects along the path is a sure-fire way to
make a name for himself. With permission granted, he starts out to where he
knows there is Christian church growth happening, Damascus.
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone
around him from heaven. Then
he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why
are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then
the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against
the goads.” Acts 9”3-5
Saul is stopped in his literal tracks just a stone throw-away from
his destination. Light from heaven envelops him. What a dream come true for a
believer in the One True God. He was probably expecting some nod from God for
what he was doing, yet he gets a supreme reprimand instead. He is knocked to
the ground. He has to get clarification. “Who are you?” he asked. Surely this
can’t be an all-powerful being, yet he calls this voice from within the light “Lord”.
Saul is aware he is having a divine revelation. Every fiber of his being is
feeling it. The Lord answers who he is and that Saul is persecuting Him, for
when Saul persecutes the Church he is persecuting Him. Then Jesus says it is
hard for him to kick against the goads. Kicking against the goads means kicking
against the briars or the thorns, or any type of sticker bushes. It can’t be
done without causing them to stick into him. Saul was about to be stuck into,
and to be one who would be injured for the very cause he was trying to tear
down.
Sometimes we find ourselves kicking against the goads. We want to avoid
being a part of something we find ourselves eventually spearheading. Maybe you
had a good idea, just one, to make something a little bit better and before you
knew it you were league president, or Bible study leader, or Sunday school
coordinator for your church, and you don’t even know how it happened. How did
all that get stuck to you? Did you kick at a goad? Maybe you needed to put on
some boots and just walk right though the mess without getting dirty. That
attitude is not always what Jesus would have us do. Jesus occasionally wants us
to do a little goad kicking once in a while and see what sticks, even when it’s
painful. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” Luke 16:10 NEV
If you notice
Jesus didn’t ask Saul if he was kicking against the goads. He told him it was
hard to kick against the goads. He was telling him, it is hard. It is in the
progressive tense, as in on going. It was a way of saying, “I can see this is
changing you, and it will continue to change you, but it is going to be hard
and painful. Just as you have been the persecutor, you are about to become the
persecuted.” God had His hand on Saul. Life would never be the same.
So
he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then
the Lord said to
him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a
voice but seeing no one. Then
Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But
they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate
nor drank. Acts 9:6-9
The transformation of Saul’s heart is actually
completed here, and he knows it, but many won’t believe it for some time. It’s
actually quite easy to see. The submission is apparent. His response is simple,
“Lord, what do You want me to do?” He makes no excuses. He doesn’t say, “okay,
but first I’ve got this thing I’ve got to do, or I’ve got to go back to
Jerusalem and explain to the leaders that…” No, he leaves it all, right there
at that moment. He simply asks, “What is it you have for me to do?” The orders
he had in his pocket mean nothing to him. His previous plans of rising in the
ranks are gone. Saul said it himself in his letter to the Philippians. But what things were gain to me, these I have
counted loss for Christ. Phil.3:7 The man so
bent on killing and destroying the followers of Christ, has just laid aside all
in order to follow Him in a matter of seconds, all because a little light was
shed on the matter.
Saul was struck
blind by the brightness he experienced by the light, but the others were not. Saul
was changed, he was different. Saul obeyed. He had to be led into the city,
where he began to fast. Why? Because he had not been told to eat or drink, so
he waited to see what God would have him do next. God told him to wait, so he
would wait because God was going to use this in another man’s life. In the mean-time
there was prayer, and continued visions for this blind man.
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus
named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And
he said, “Here I am, Lord.” Acts 9:10
Jesus again appears in a vision to Ananias, and just as with Saul
the response to Christ is immediate. One thing I would like to point out here
is that Ananias is called a disciple, which would probably mean he had followed
Jesus at one time, possibly even been one of the seventy. He was familiar with
Jesus. To see Jesus in a vision could have seemed like daydream to him, like a
memory. Yet the vision was also very real, real enough that when Jesus spoke to
him Ananias audibly spoke to Him. Wouldn’t it be nice if we would be so in
tuned with Christ that in the middle of our busy day if Jesus called to us we
would just say, “Here I am.”
I believe that much of the time if Jesus’ name were to show up as
a caller on people’s phones they would push the message, or worse the reject
call button on their phones. Some might even go so far as to block the caller.
People just don’t want to put down their agendas to answer God’s call or do God’s
business. Ananias answered the call, but what he was asked to do wasn’t what he
wanted to hear.
So the Lord said to
him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house
of Judas for one called
Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a
man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this
man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who
call on Your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of
Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how
many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:11-16
Jesus gives Ananias his
marching orders. Supposing that Ananias was one of the seventy, the concept of
going and healing someone was not a new idea for him. He had been there before.
The Lord had ordained him to heal, and he could do it, not a problem. If you
notice, Ananias made no objection to the healing part of the order. Ananias had
every confidence in the Lord’s ability to use him to accomplish that part of
the job. It wasn’t the what was going to be done, it was the who it was to be
done for that was at issue for him. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around?
Shouldn’t healing a blind person be the departure from reality? Yet Ananias’
doubts in the area of the man, not the miraculous. Ananias fears the man, and
what the man can do to him. He still has lapses of faith when it comes to
trusting where God is leading. The fear of man brings a snare, Bur whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe. Prov. 29:25 Sometimes I wonder how often God rolls His eyes and sighs at us. This
must have been one of those times because Jesus goes on and explains His plans.
Ananias
is let in on God’s agenda, not Saul’s plan left on the side of the road, never
to happen in Damascus. He is told that God has just created an apostle, one to
be sent out on an amazingly costly journey. If only Ananias is willing. He
tells Ananias that Saul has been told that a man named Ananias is coming to
heal him. I wonder if Jesus had said, “And if it isn’t you I’m going to send
your second cousin, Ananias, instead,” if that would have motivated him. Jesus didn’t
have to go that far. Ananias obeyed because God revealed the plan to him,
letting him in on the inside track.
Sometimes,
most of the time, I’m like the kid that wants to know all the secrets. I want
to know all God’s plans for me and everyone else in my life. I know there are
reasons he doesn’t tell me. Some say He is teaching me patience, but I believe
more importantly the Lord is teaching me to trust Him completely. Proverbs
3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD will all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." I believe that trusting in the Lord is
essential to life. It’s also one of the hardest things to learn to do. When I get
it all figured out I’m going to write a book about it; until then I’m a work in
progress, as we all are. I do know that I don’t want to direct my own path
because I’ve got a really bad sense of direction. I think Ananias was a lot
like me, and that’s why God sent him to Straight street. There was no way he
could get lost on Straight street. Now curvy, twisty street was another story.
And Ananias went his way and entered the house;
and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who
appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your
sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his
eyes something like
scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. Acts
9:17-18
Somehow I don’t see
Ananias going in with a glad heart full of happiness. I think he just went in
do business, hopeful it would be a hit and run sort of thing. He went in, found
a blind man, tells him why he’s there, and lays his hands on the man’s eyes,
simply says, “receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” It was
the second part that was the doing in of Saul. Once the Holy Spirit filled him
up, Ananias had a brother in the Spirit. It was evidenced by the outpouring
that followed. Saul was asking to be baptized! He wanted to seal the deal,
right there and then.
Baptism is a covenant deal for Christians. When you are
baptized you are publicly proclaiming that you belong to God, that you have
died with Christ and are also a partaker in His resurrection. We see this in
scripture: ”buried with Him in baptism, in which you also
were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead, " Col. 2:12. If you are
a believer and have not been baptized I would encourage to pray about making
that covenant step. Reach out to your pastor and seek it as Paul did. You will
be blessed.
Saul
also ended his fast and went on with what the Lord had called him to do. He studied
and learned from the disciples, including Ananias, and then as God called him,
having knowledge of the scriptures, he began his ministry.
So when he had received food, he was strengthened.
Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He
is the Son of God.
Then
all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who
called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that
he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”
But
Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in
Damascus, proving that this Jesus is
the Christ. Acts 9:19-22
If God could use the
things Saul had in his former life to be used for the Kingdom, couldn’t He use
the gifts and talents you have for His Kingdom. I’ve heard many testimonies of
people who claim to be changed, but all they do is talk about the life they
used to have before coming to Jesus, and not about the life they now have in
Him, as if they’re lamenting their old life. This is not truly a testimony of
the power of God. I’ve also seen people who had unique gifts and talents that
God administers in ways we would never have imagined for His Kingdom. God used
both of these men in ways they would never have imagined. It was through
Ananias that Saul received not just his physical sight, but his ability to see
God in a whole new light, and it was because of Saul that Ananias learned to
trust in God and not see with his physical eyes, but with his spirit. God can
use us tremendously in each other’s life. Jesus put these two men together for
a purpose, to teach each other great lessons of love that could not otherwise
be learned. And that is what the church is all about.
And let us consider one
another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of
some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day
approaching. Hebrews10:24-25
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