Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I left you yesterday in a precarious situation, remember? And I invited both you and me to consider if we are at all open to God doing with us what God was doing 2000 years ago in Damascus, Syria with two men about to meet each other. Remember who they are?
Saul the angry Pharisee, had been blinded by an encounter with resurrected Jesus, while Saul was on his way to Damascus with intent to eradicate any Jesus followers in that city. In his blindness Saul was waiting for both explanation and instructions from God.
In that same city a man named Ananias, a devout follower of Jesus, also had a shocking encounter with resurrected Jesus. In his encounter, Ananias was instructed to go and find this Saul, and give him a message from Jesus, which would explain the dramatic new life purpose God wanted for the rest of Saul’s life. Neither man could have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that God would bring them together, nor how their lives would change in their encounter that day!
Pause. Have you ever had a life changing encounter with Jesus? How did it change your life? I have. In fact, I’ve had several and one of them, about 5 years ago, is why I’m here, six days a week, ready to meet with you in “Walking with Jesus”!
The record of Acts 9 tells us Ananias did find the courage to go and look for Saul the Pharisee. I can imagine his standing in the room with blind Saul, who felt totally vulnerable. Saul had come to Damascus to arrest, persecute and harm any and all followers of Jesus.
Now, in his blindness, he could not see the Jesus follower, Ananias, who stood before him. He could not defend himself if Ananias chose to do him harm. Ananias stood there looking at blind Saul and I wonder if Ananias thought the best thing for all Jesus followers would be if Saul remained blind and helpless for the rest of his life?
But both Saul and Ananias had encountered the resurrected Jesus and Jesus wanted to change both their lives, but it would require one of the biggest steps of faith in God either of them had ever taken! They didn’t know it, but God’s plan was that through their encounter that day God would start something that would change our world!! Pause.
Regardless of your age, where you live in the world, your skin color or mother tongue, your education or financial worth… only God can imagine what HE would like to accomplish in our world through you, if you’d offer yourself fully, without restraint or restriction, to God. Have you ever thought much about that? May I ask…what’s holding you back from FULL surrender, of all you are and have, giving God freedom to do with your life whatever He wants?
The words Ananias spoke are stunning. The record says: “Placing his hands on Saul, Ananias 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 of God.” (Acts 9:17) What spiritual courage was required for Ananias to call Saul “brother” and to speak of the Holy Spirit to Saul who had been so full of hate for all ‘Jesus followers’?
The record says “Immediately something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” (Acts 9:18,19) Now, what have we just witnessed? I assume it was Ananias who baptized Saul. Perhaps there was a pool of some type in the courtyard of that house. While the record doesn’t tell us, I imagine Saul invited Ananias to stay and they ate together and talked. Perhaps for a very long time. Saul had so many questions, but so did Ananias!
Two devout, religious men, who only a few hours before, had every reason to hate each other, were now united by miraculous, life changing, encounters with resurrected Jesus. We have no Biblical record, that I know of, that these men ever spent any time together again after this day! Yet, I assure you, neither of their lives were ever the same after what they experienced together that day!
Dr. Luke tells us “Saul spent several days with the disciples of Jesus in Damascus. At once Saul began to preach in the Synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished…” (Acts 9:19-21) Now I urge you to put yourself INTO the story. Look closely at what’s happening here. These ‘disciples of Jesus in Damascus’ were the very people Saul had come to Damascus to arrest and persecute! Now, a changed Saul couldn’t get enough of spending time with them to understand how Jesus had changed their lives…and was changing his!
The fact that there were multiple synagogues in Damascus, Syria means the Jewish population there was very large and these were the men excited about Saul’s coming. They had heard what he had done in Jerusalem and I’m confident the more zealous men among them were wringing their hands with excitement anticipating joining Saul in breaking down doors and entering homes and grabbing Jesus followers and hauling them out into the street to make a public spectacle of them!
But instead, this Saul came to these synagogues to proclaim the unthinkable, the most outrageous claim that Saul himself had refuted and rejected with all his energy and passion. What claim? That Jesus is the Son of God AND the Jewish Messiah! Nothing could have shocked Damascus more than what was happening with Saul the Pharisee!
Luke summarizes these few traumatizing days with this statement: “Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews in Damascus by PROVING that Jesus is the Messiah!” (Acts 9:22) Oh my! Saul’s many years of intensive study of the Jewish holy books, and training with Gamaliel and some of the wisest Jewish scholars, were now paying the rich dividends God intended.
Saul thought he had been preparing to be the wisest of all Jewish scholars, the leader of the Sanhedrin… but God was preparing Saul to be the greatest apostle and communicator of the Gospel of Jesus Christ this world has ever seen! Now think about that friends! What has been your life agenda, objective, purpose thus far, and what do you suppose God’s great purpose for the rest of your life might be?!
Important “lessons learned” study notes at the link below will help you wrestle with these deep questions today, and a wonderful worship song will invite you to Jesus in worship, and I’m already working on getting ready to meet with you here tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: Acts 9:11-22.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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