Scripture: Acts 9
Video Link: https://youtu.be/v9xfsj7_kas
Structure:
- Introduction
- Stephen
- Ananias
- Barnabas
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone.
Over the past two or three weeks we have watched Olympic athletes from all over the world competing at the highest level. These men and women are extraordinary in their ability, their commitment and their work ethic.
But, as capable as they are, most (if not all) of them did not get there alone. Each of them had people in the background of their lives supporting them. Coaches, parents, fundraisers, physios, friends and so on.
During the month of August, we are focusing on four messages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. The book of Acts tells how the Holy Spirit used men and women to share the message about Jesus.
Today our sermon focuses on the conversion of Saul, also known as the apostle Paul. Paul accomplished great things for God. He changed the world.
If Christian mission was an Olympic sport, then Paul would be one of the GOAT’s, one of the greatest of all time.
We do well to remember though, that Saul would not have become the apostle Paul without the help of some key individuals supporting him in the background. From Acts chapter 9, verse 1, we read…
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 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. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 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.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
I said before that Saul would not have become the apostle Paul without the help of some key individuals. The Holy Spirit used three people in particular in the process of Saul’s call and conversion: Stephen, Ananias and Barnabas. Let’s begin by considering how the Spirit used Stephen.
Stephen:
If you have a blocked sewer pipe, it does no good to keep flushing the toilet. The paper and the poo will back up until it finds a way out. The way out might be a vent somewhere onto your back lawn or (if you are unlucky) it might be the actual toilet bowl itself. Either way you end up with a smelly mess.
If your sewer line blocks, you really have to call a plumber who will put a camera down to see what the problem is. Sometimes the blockage can be cleared with an auger or a high-pressure hose. But if the pipe is damaged, you may need to replace it.
The psychologist, Carl Jung, said: “Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt”.
Or, to put this another way, if repressed doubt is like a blocked sewer line, then the fanatic refuses to admit there is a problem and continues to flush the toilet more and more, even as the paper and poo of his fanaticism and anger spew out where it is not wanted.
A fanatic is a person filled with excessive zeal, often for an extreme religious or political cause. Fanatics tend to be one eyed. They struggle to see things from another perspective. Before Saul met the risen Jesus, he was a religious fanatic.
As we heard last week, Saul was present when Stephen gave his speech to the Jewish leadership and he approved of the crowd stoning Stephen. In fact, the killing of Stephen became the catalyst for Saul to go from house to house, dragging Christian men and women off to prison.
Stephen’s message was basically this: Jesus is the Messiah of God and the religious leaders (whom Saul aligned himself with) killed Jesus. But God has vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead.
Stephen was so convinced that God had raised Jesus from the dead that he was willing to die for it. Stephen brought the religious leaders’ hate to the surface, only to forgive it.
This caused Saul to doubt his own belief system. If Stephen was right, then the religious leaders and Saul were on the wrong side of God. If Stephen was right, then much of what Saul believed in was a lie.
Of course, Saul does not want to face the possibility he is wrong. And so, he represses his doubt. He pushes his doubt deeper down into his unconscious. Saul thought he could get rid of his nagging doubt by flushing the Christians away. But the blockage caused by repressed doubt won’t be shifted like that.
The more Saul persecuted the church, the more the paper and poo of his fanaticism and hate overflowed where it was not wanted.
Having done as much damage as he could in Jerusalem, Saul moves on to Damascus to round up more Christians there. Damascus is about 140 miles north of Jerusalem. It would have taken about a week to get there on foot.
Saul was probably travelling with temple guards.
As Saul drew near to Damascus, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” When Saul asks who is speaking to him, the Lord replies, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”.
It is characteristic of Jesus to say much with few words. In just two short sentences Jesus removes all doubt and frees Saul from his fanaticism.
Saul now sees first hand, for himself, that God has raised Jesus from the dead and he understands clearly that Stephen was right. He (Saul) is on the wrong side of God’s purpose. By persecuting Christians Saul was in fact fighting against God, without being aware of it.
We must not miss the inference in Jesus’ words here. The risen and ascended Jesus is intimately connected, by his Spirit, to his church on earth. When Saul persecuted Christians, Jesus felt it. ‘What you do to least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do to me’, is what the Lord says in Matthew’s gospel.
The point I’m making here is that the Holy Spirit used Stephen to sow the irritating seed of gospel truth in Saul’s heart. Without someone like Stephen to sow the seed, Saul may never have become a Christian. Stephen’s message and death had a profound effect on Saul.
Now most people are not as fanatical as Saul was. But pretty much everyone holds some kind of false belief at some point in their life. And, whether you become a Christian or not, the Holy Spirit is likely to use a person (like Stephen) to challenge your false beliefs.
When that happens, you have a choice. You can either offer your doubts up to God and say, ‘Lord, show me the truth about Jesus and the truth about myself’.
Or you can double down and repress your doubt. But if you do that, your doubt will surface somewhere else in your life as fanaticism. Either way, the truth will come out in the end. You cannot avoid it.
Who is your Stephen? Who sowed the irritating seed of gospel truth in your life? Whose Christian witness got under your skin? Who caused you to doubt your false beliefs? Who brought your fanaticism and hate to the surface, only to forgive it?
Jesus wants to remove the blockages to faith in him caused by the lies we believe. Be open to the truth. Accept Jesus by faith.
We are talking today about the people the Spirit of God used to bring Saul to faith in Jesus. We have heard how Stephen planted the irritating seed of gospel truth. Now let’s consider how the Holy Spirit used Ananias to heal Saul. From verse 10 of Acts 9, we continue the account of Saul’s conversion…
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.” 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.” 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.” 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.
Helen Keller once wrote, ‘Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light’.
She knew this from experience. Helen Keller was both deaf and blind. She was also intelligent and courageous, a woman of faith. She wrote a dozen books and became an inspiration to millions. But Helen Keller did not accomplish these things on her own. There were people in the background of her life who supported her and helped her reach her potential.
In particular, Anne Sullivan. Anne became Helen Keller’s lifelong teacher and mentor. Anne used touch to teach Helen the alphabet and to make words by spelling them with her finger on Helen’s palm. Helen soon caught on.
Eventually Helen learned to read Braille and write with a specially designed typewriter. With Anne Sullivan’s tutoring, Helen Keller was admitted to College and graduated with distinction. And, when Anne Sullivan married John Macy in 1905, Helen Keller went to live with them and the support continued. [1]
Without Anne Sullivan, the world may not have been blessed with the insight and inspiration of Helen Keller.
After his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul was struck blind. He could hear well enough; he just couldn’t see. Saul’s blindness was quite different from Helen Keller’s blindness. Helen was only physically blind, whereas Saul was both physically and spiritually blind.
Ananias, a Christian believer, received a vision in which Jesus told him to go and lay hands on Saul to heal Saul of his blindness. Ananias wasn’t too sure at first, but Jesus insisted so Ananias found his courage and obeyed Jesus in faith.
Christian faith isn’t just thinking the right things about God in our head. Real faith always finds expression in obedience to Christ.
The healing wasn’t just for Saul’s benefit. It was also for the benefit of the other Christian believers. The Holy Spirit’s healing of Saul, through Ananias, demonstrated to the church that Jesus had forgiven Saul and accepted him, therefore they could too.
When Ananias entered the house where Saul was staying, he said, ‘Brother Saul…’ Brother. There is no recrimination. No judgement. No accusation. Simply an offer of grace. Jesus had accepted Saul and that made Saul family.
Saul accepts God’s grace through Ananias and his sight is restored, both his physical sight and his spiritual sight. Then, as a sign of his conversion and commitment to follow Jesus, Saul was baptised with water.
We don’t really hear much else about Ananias after that. His time in the spotlight is brief but significant. For without Ananias’ faithful obedience to Jesus, Saul may not have become an apostle of Christ. The Holy Spirit used Ananias to help Saul at an important crossroads in his life.
Usually, when someone becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit involves a number of different people in the process. But, at some point in that process, we each need to make a decision for Christ. At some point we reach a crossroads, when we must make a commitment and say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. I surrender my life to you’.
Are you at the crossroads? Are you ready to commit to Jesus?
Who is your Ananias? Who has the Spirit provided to minister God’s grace?
Who has Jesus sent to hold you through the waters of baptism?
Accept the Lord’s help. Be in Christ. Be right with God.
And for those who have already given their lives to Jesus, are you ready to be an Ananias for someone else?
The Holy Spirit used a number of different people in the process of Saul’s conversion. Stephen diagnosed Saul’s sickness, and Ananias ministered God’s cure. But there is one other person who played a vital role in supporting Saul and that is Barnabas.
Barnabas:
For many days after his baptism Saul stayed in Damascus and began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God. Eventually though he had to leave because there was a conspiracy to kill him. From verse 26 of Acts 9 we continue Saul’s story…
26 When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Barnabas told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
Some trees, in nature, require other buddy trees of the same species planted close by to help promote pollination. For example, apple trees, pear trees and plum trees may need up to three other trees of the same variety around them in order to fruit well.
Christians are a bit like that too. To be fruitful we need other believers around us.
Saul had a problem. People were afraid of him. They wouldn’t let him get close. Saul was like a lone apple tree. He couldn’t be as fruitful or effective in his witness for Jesus by himself. Saul needed an advocate, someone trustworthy who could vouch for him.
Barnabas was just that person. Barnabas believed in Saul and trusted the work of the Holy Spirit in Saul’s life.
Barnabas reassured the believers in Jerusalem that Saul was the real deal and could be trusted. This enabled Saul to stay connected to the church and continue the work Jesus had called him to.
There is much more we could say about Barnabas and Saul’s partnership in the gospel, but we don’t have time today. Suffice to say, that without Barnabas, Saul’s career as an apostle may have been far less fruitful.
Who is your Barnabas? Who believes in you when no one else does? Who sees you and trusts the work of the Spirit in your life. Who comes alongside you and keeps you connected with God’s people? Who makes you more fruitful for Christ? Take care of that relationship. Your life may depend on it.
Consider also who you can be a Barnabas for.
Conclusion:
Let us pray…
Father God, thank you for including us in your plan of salvation.
Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see your hand at work in the world around us.
Lord Jesus, help us to live in a way that glorifies you. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
- What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- Who do you identify with most in Acts 9? Saul, Stephen, Ananias or Barnabas? Why?
- How does doubt affect human behaviour? How did Saul deal with his doubts? How do you deal with your doubts?
- Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ words to Saul on the road to Damascus. What does this tell us about Jesus and his relationship with the church?
- How did Stephen help Saul? Who is your Stephen? Who sowed the seed of gospel truth in your life? Whose Christian witness gets under your skin? Who caused you to doubt your false beliefs?
- How did Ananias help Saul? If you haven’t yet committed your life to Jesus, what are the next steps for you? If you are committed to Jesus, are you ready to be an Ananias for someone else?
- How did Barnabas help Saul? Who is your Barnabas? Who believes in you when no one else does? Who makes you more fruitful for Christ? What can you do to take care of that relationship? Who can you be a Barnabas for?
[1] From womenshistory.org
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