Three Responses to the Call of God

I took a page out of Pastor Tim's book in tackling such a large text today. All told, I still think he had me beat by six in the total number of verses covered in one sermon.

I apologize that this entry is so long, but I'm putting the meat of today's lesson on this site in case you missed it this morning (we don't have the luxury of mp3 recordings). If you’re pressed for time, just check out the text in bold for the outline.

I have said it before: Acts is a book of history - specifically detailing the story of how Jesus fulfills His promise and builds His church. It is the unique story of the unique ministry of the Holy Spirit as the church of God was brought into existence. While Acts is not a book of doctrine, we can, at times, find illustrations to doctrine. This is what we did today as we examined three responses to the call of God.

God's Call to Saul (God's Call to Faith)

In the dialogue between God and Saul on the road to Damascus, we see an example of Man's rejection and God's sovereign intervention. Saul's lifetime of rejection – and even zealous hatred of Christ is instantly terminated by God’s relentless Grace on the road to Damascus.

In this we see evidence of the following principles of God's Grace:

God's Grace is Irresistible - (Acts 9:5-6, 15-16; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11, 2:8-10)
You can not find a candidate in all of scripture of someone more darkened in their thinking and in greater enmity towards God. And yet Christ met Saul on the road to Damascus, changing his life forever. In fact, God says that "he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." (ESV)

God's Grace Changes Everything - (Acts 9:6, 18-22) Saul originally went to Damascus with his own plan - to persecute believers. However, he ended up there because of God’s command -for the purpose of proclaiming the name of Christ, and to suffer for His sake.

God’s Grace is Persistent - (Acts 9:5) Some texts read "It is hard for you to kick against the goads." This is an indication that God's Spirit had been working in the heart of Saul, with Saul resisting like a beast of burden to the goading of the driver. Saul's resistance was strong, and, like all of us, his capacity to understand the gospel was missing because of the totality of his darkened mind. (Romans 1:21, Jeremiah 17:9-10). God's Grace, however, is stronger than our own rebellion.

God's Grace is Free, but it Costs us Everything - (Ephesians 2:8-10) God’s grace is a free gift to us, and it is not given because of our works. Rather, it is given to us so that we will perform God’s works. We are His worksmanship, and bought with a price. In Acts 9:16 we see that Saul has been, from the beginning, marked for suffering for the cause of Christ. All of Acts is a testimony to this, from floggings, stonings, imprisonment, etc...

God's Call to Ananias (God's Call to Obey)

In this section, we looked at man's lack of faith, and God's enduring promises. Scripture does not condemn Ananias for His response to God's command, so I am not one to pass judgement, but it does remind us of the examples of the disciples' faithlessness in Matthew 8:23-27. God’s direction to Ananias was very clear and precise, and yet it seems Ananias’ response assumes that God is not aware of the nature of His own request.

God does not respond to Ananias’ fear, but rather to his lack of faith. God re-affirms the fact that He is sovereign, and that He has a perfect plan which involves Saul.

God’s faithfulness is greater than our faithlessness – (Deuteronomy 7:9; 2 Timothy 2:13; Psalm 78, 90,136).

God’s Call to Barnabas (The whispering of the shepherd)

It is more difficult to draw comparisons between God’s interaction with Saul and Ananias and God’s interaction with Barnabas for obvious reasons: God’s direction to Barnabas is not recorded in scripture. However, the absence of any dialogue only emphasizes the point.

Barnabas’ spirit was in tune with the Holy Spirit, so that when the time came, he was bold and defended Saul in the presence of the Jerusalem disciples.

Barnabas didn’t necessarily vouch for Saul, but rather for the work of the Lord in Saul’s life. Barnabas did not fear staking his reputation on the name of Saul, but, rather, he saw intuitively what Ananias had to be told – that God has a plan and it involves Saul.

Scripture records another instance where Barnabas refuses to give up on God’s redemptive process in another man. In Acts 15:36-51, he defends John Mark while Paul himself questions another man’s usefulness to God.

Application:

Those of us today are in one of these three camps. We are either like Saul – running from God and in enmity towards him; Ananias – willing to obey, yet hindered by fear, doubt or sin; or Barnabas – walking rightly with the Lord, eager and willing to place our trust in His sovereign plan regardless of the cost.

If you are like Saul, running from God and unwilling to recognize the totality of your sinfulness, today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait until God uses the tragedies of life to get your attention. But rather, seek Him today so that when those tragedies come, you can be like Barnabas and trust in His sovereign plan. The same exhortation applies to those of you who may be believers and yet are fighting the call of God in your life.

If you are like Ananias, what is it that God is asking you to do? Why are you hesitant to obey? Do not be so arrogant as to think that your fears and inhibitions are greater than God’s redemptive purpose. God will work on this earth, and He is asking you to be a part of the team. Now is the time to huddle-up, get your head in the game, and do what he asks. Learn to listen to His voice and obey without question.

If you are like Barnabas, then that is great. You have achieved a status that I only attain for the briefest moments in my spiritual walk. Always be listening, ready to do His will. Just because you have been stretched and proven yourself faithful in the past, do not get too comfortable. God is in the business of growing and pruning us so that we can be more and more conformed into the image of Christ.