The Power of Humble Surrender
Acts 22:1 - 22:30
Intro: Paul was one of the most influential and spiritually powerful men we can read about in our Bibles. What made him so? Jesus told His disciples what the key to greatness was. He said, “If you want to be great, then learn to serve. If you want to be great, become like a child.” Since Paul often comes across as a forceful person, we don’t always think of him as someone who would be characterized by humility and surrender. However, he had humbly surrendered himself to the Lord after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. And he indicates that he continued to do so every day of his life (I die daily). So where does that leave us? Do you want God to be able to use you in powerful ways?
Prop: One of the greatest lessons we can ever learn is how to humbly surrender ourselves to the One who created us.
Interrogative: What does the life of a person who is humbly surrendered to God look like?
TS: Let’s learn together today from the life of Paul what it means to submit ourselves to God. First, we have to look back to the early days of Paul’s life, as he relates his personal testimony to the crowd that tried to kill him.
I. Sincerity Does not Produce Truth (Acts 22:1-5)
40 Having received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: 22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." 2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: 3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
-The old Paul was sincere about a religious cause, not about love and truth. He was not living in humble obedience to the God of Israel, even though he sincerely thought he was serving God in what he was doing.
-History is filled with people and religious groups (even so-called Christians) whose sincerity and zeal led them to commit grave sins against fellow man. There is nothing quite like a holy war where both sides think their cause is just. Both sides believe they are on a mission from God, even though they never got close enough to God to find out what their mission really should have been.
-The point is that sincerity alone does not cut it! Many people are sincerely wrong in what they believe about God and in how they live their lives before Him. So the idea that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere does not hold water. That philosophy is so full of holes! It is amazing more people do not see through it. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32). Sincerity will not make us free. Submitting ourselves to Jesus and His teachings will set us free. Paul did not start there, as we will see, but after he encountered Jesus, he found himself on the road to freedom. [TS] Let’s look at Christ’s response to Paul’s sincere, but mistaken efforts.
II. Christ Takes the Treatment of His Church Personally (Acts 22:6-8)
6 "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ’Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 "’Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. "’I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.
-As Paul continued persecuting the followers of Jesus, sending some of them to their death, He did not know that his religious campaign was a direct attack on God Himself. Again, his sincerity and zeal for what he thought was the right way produced an intensity in him that caused him to launch a crusade against those who followed Christ.
-When Jesus revealed Himself to Paul near Damascus, He told Paul, “You have been persecuting Me, the Son of God, the Messiah.”
-Now we know how Paul treated the early church before he became a follower of Jesus, but what is our attitude toward the church today? Remember, Jesus is married to the church. The church is the bride of Christ. Do you love His church? Are you committed to helping the church become the kind of bride Jesus wants to come back for?
-According to Jewish custom, when a man wants to propose to a woman, he prepares a meal and invites the girl and her family. His proposal includes a cup of wine that is set before her. If she accepts his offer of marriage, she takes the cup and drinks the wine. She is committing herself to become his wife and will prepare herself to be the best wife she can be. We are reminded of that when we take communion. When we drink the cup of grape juice, we are saying YES to Jesus. Yes, we do want to be part of His bride, and we will treat the rest of the church as if it belongs to Christ – because indeed it does!
-TS: Well, as Paul continues his story, we find the proper attitude one should have towards Christ.
III. Submission Is the Proper Attitude towards Jesus (Acts 22:9-11)
9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10 "’What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. "’Get up,’ the Lord said, ’and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
-When Paul encountered Jesus, He knew that he was dealing with someone infinitely greater, more pure, more holy, and more intense than himself or his cause. Encountering Jesus has a way of helping us see how small we are and how big He is. However, the greatness of Jesus is seen not only in His strength and power to do anything, but in His loving way of dealing with each of us. Sure, He could destroy us or defeat us with His strength, but instead, He uses His power to love us.
-Whatever it was that made Paul recognize Jesus as the Messiah (the light, the power, the supernatural glory), Paul knew the proper response. In fact, in v.8, when Paul says, “What shall I do, Lord,” One translation says, “What shall I do, Sir?” Paul may not have fully comprehended that he was dealing with the Lord of the universe, but he did know that Jesus commanded his respect. However, as Jesus revealed who He was, Jesus of Nazareth, whom Paul had always thought of as an imposter, the spiritual light came on for Paul as he realized that Jesus really was the Messiah, Son of the living God!
-When Paul began to understand that the Messiah, God’s anointed One, was speaking to him, he fully submitted himself and said, “Lord, what shall I do?” That is the question each of us should be asking of the Lord each day for the rest of our lives: “Lord, what shall I do? What do You want me to do?” We might call that living the surrendered life or living in submission to God and His plan for our lives.
-In the OT, Samuel heard the voice of the Lord one night after he had gone to bed. He didn’t know the Lord’s voice yet, so he thought it was the priest, Eli, who was calling him. Finally, Eli understood that the Lord was speaking to Samuel and told him how to respond the next time. What was the proper response that Samuel gave when the Lord spoke to him? He said, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). After Mary was visited by an angel and heard what the Lord wanted to do through her life, what was her response? "I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38).
-The power of humble obedience is great because it allows us to get in step with God. Humble, loving obedience is what God wanted from Adam and Eve way back in the beginning. Disobedience and stubborn pride strip us of spiritual power. But simple trust in God and humble obedience to what He tells us to do will produce powerful results!
-TS: And that is essentially what this next point is about.
IV. Repentance Is the Proper Action towards Jesus (Acts 22:12-16)
12 "A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ’Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. 14 "Then he said: ’The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
-Paul was taken into Damascus, and Ananias obeyed the Lord and came and shared the good news about Jesus with him. However, there came a point where enough words had been said. There was no more need for talking about it. It was time to do something about it. “What are you waiting for, Paul? Get up, get baptized, get right with God, and call on Him for forgiveness!”
-Do you ever talk things to death? We do sometimes. It took us several months to decide to pull up our stakes and go off to seminary. Before that, we would talk all around it until we were tired of discussing it. We’d just leave it alone for awhile, but it would always pop back up. So at some point, we had to make a decision.
-When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, no decision can become your decision if you never act on what you know. Once you encounter Jesus and come to know the truth about Him, you might need a few questions answered along the way, but the proper action in response to the power and love of Jesus is to repent and make things right with Him.
-If you will do that, then you will begin to experience the life you’ve always wanted, but were too confused, too hurt, too angry, or too blind to receive. If you have never repented before God for the wrong things you’ve said and done, don’t wait. Do it today!
V. God’s Plan Is of Greater Importance than our Plans (Acts 22:17-21)
17 "When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking. ’Quick!’ he said to me. ’Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 "’Lord,’ I replied, ’these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ 21 "Then the Lord said to me, ’Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’"
-Paul apparently objected to leaving Jerusalem, being willing to stay there and preach the gospel – even if it cost him his life. However, God wanted to use Paul on a much larger scale. His background, personality, gifts, and willingness to listen & obey the Lord were all needed in order to get the message of forgiveness and grace to the Gentiles.
-As Paul is addressing this Jewish crowd, part of his defense here is that it was not his idea to leave Jerusalem and go to the Gentiles. It was the Lord’s idea, and who was he to disobey the Lord?
-However, as we see in the next few verses, his defense falls on deaf ears and blind eyes. Why won’t they listen to Paul or to the word of the Lord? Because they are being controlled by a religious spirit, rather than the Holy Spirit.
VI. A Religious Spirit Cannot See beyond its own Agenda (Acts 22:22-24)
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!" 23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and questioned in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.
-Have you ever tried to tell a child something, and they remember part of what you say, but not the part you really want them to remember? Well, many of the Jews who rejected Jesus were this way. In the OT, in the history of the nation of Israel, God revealed Himself to Israel through the Law and the prophets. Among all that God told them two things can be highlighted here. First and foremost, God told them that He loved them and wanted to be close to them. He said this in many ways: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…. Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” A second thing God told Israel was not to intermarry with the pagan nations around them so they would not become like them. Well, both the Bible and history tell us that as a nation they did not do so well with either of these commands. So after years of captivity and bondage, we come up to the time of Christ, and what do you think the people of Israel remember about what God told them? Many of them remember one major thing that to them is inviolate: Stay away from Gentiles! See, if a Jew even entered the house of a Gentile, they were considered unclean, according to Jewish custom. Peter told Cornelius in Acts 10:28, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.”
-God wanted them to remember to come close to Him, to love Him, and to live in submission and obedience to His plan. And His plan of grace and forgiveness included the entire human race – both Jew and Gentile. However, the Jews whom Paul was dealing with were not really interested in God’s plan. They knew the Law and the OT, but they ignored verses like Isaiah 49:6: “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Their agenda was to protect their own religious system at all costs, not to love the Lord and to honor Him.
-TS: Well, the violent response of the crowd appeared to bring further pain and problems to Paul. However, in his submission to God’s will, he exercised his legal rights to avoid senseless punishment. It is hard to know when to use our rights and when we need to give them up. Let’s take a look at that issue for a moment.
VII. Our Rights Must Come under the Leadership of Jesus (Acts 22:25-30)
25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?" 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "This man is a Roman citizen." 27 The commander went to Paul and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" "Yes, I am," he answered. 28 Then the commander said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship." "But I was born a citizen," Paul replied. 29 Those who were about to question him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. 30 The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.
-Earlier in Acts, Paul allowed himself to be beaten after being arrested in the Roman city of Philippi. If you remember the story from Acts 16, Paul and Silas got in trouble for casting a demonic spirit out of a slave girl whose masters were exploiting by using her for fortune-telling. The owners of the slave girl took them to the magistrates who had them stripped and beaten. The amazing thing is that Paul apparently could have prevented the beating. As a Roman citizen he could have done what he did here, and yelled, “Stop! I’m a Roman citizen. It is against Roman law to flog me.” However, as far as we know, he did not try to stop them. Why didn’t he? I believe it was because the HS was leading him to the Philippian jailer, who found God’s grace as a result of Paul and Silas spending the night in the jail there. You can read all about it in Acts 16, where Paul later told the authorities that he was a Roman citizen and that they could be in big trouble for having beaten him.
-The point is this: We must always surrender our rights to the One who has every right to every area of our lives. God’s plan may require us to give up our rights so that someone else might come to know His forgiveness and grace. At other times, God may lead us to exercise our rights to further promote His plan and His grace.
Conclusion: As we close, there is power in humble surrender to God and His ways. Just being sincere or just being religious is not enough. Sincerely responding to the truth about Jesus is what is needed. The proper response includes an attitude of humility and the act of repentance. As we commit ourselves to the Lord and seek to live our lives for Him, the attitude of humble surrender will also help us yield our rights to the leadership of Jesus Christ. As we do that, we will see the power of God at work in our lives. God cannot trust His power to those who are arrogant and self-seeking. However, if we will humble ourselves before Him, He will use us to touch the lives of others who are searching for answers. He may use us to work miracles and accomplish great things for Him. We know it will be good because it will be all about Him and not about us. Pray.
