HOLDING THE ROPES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
ACTS 9:23-31
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: IDEAS OF RELIEF
1. When their car broke down in the desert, John, Paul, and Tim the Aggie decided to go their separate ways.
2. John took the radiator out of the car so he would have some water for the way. Paul took the mats from the car so he could shield the sun a bit.
3. Tim the Aggie, however, removed the door and started to walk. “Wait a minute,” said John. “Why are you taking the door with you?” “In case I need some air,” replied Tim. “I can roll down the window.”
B. ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THE GOSPEL
1. Emperor Diocletian in 303 A.D. issued 4 proclamations to wipe out the Christian faith. For 8 years persecution swept the Empire.
2. Many churches were demolished. Many copies of the Bible were burned. Christians were killed.
3. To the Emperor, the purge looked so complete that he issued a new coin with the inscription, “The Christian religion is destroyed and the worship of the gods is restored.”
4. What he didn’t know was that God had a call on the next emperor – Constantine (313 A.D.) – who established the Roman Empire as a Christian Empire! You can’t stop God!
5. The French atheist Voltaire boasted in the 1700’s that in 100 years Christianity would cease to exist, but within 50 years the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house to publish Bibles (Geisler and Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, 1986, pp. 123, 124).
6. The Communists gathered Bibles and burned them. Hitler burned Bibles and declared he would write his own.
7. Nations have risen and fallen, but the Word of God lives on! Emperors, Kings and Dictators have attempted to stamp it out, but the Word of God lives on!
8. Many philosophers and educators have mocked the Bible, but today they are dead and the Word of God lives on!
C. CONVERSION OF THE GREATEST PERSECUTOR
1. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the greatest persecutor of the Early Church, was a turning point in the history of Christianity. His vision of the Risen Christ was one of the most compelling confirmations of Jesus’ resurrection!
2. The Bible tells what happened after his conversion: ACTS 9:20-25; “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.”
2. Paul retold the story in 2 Corinthians; “In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” 2 COR. 11:32-33.
D. THESIS
1. Paul had an exciting life, but also a dangerous one. Here we find Paul’s life threatened. He must get out of the city of Damascus or be killed. Under cover of darkness his Christian friends lowered him over the city walls to safety -- an example to believers of all ages as to what our responsibility is before God to provide for the next generation.
2. Paul would become the greatest teacher, preacher and missionary the world had ever known. Yet he would’ve been stopped before his great ministry had hardly gotten started, if not for other Christians coming to his aid.
3. We have a duty to “hold the ropes” for the next generation -- for at least three different groups; THE CHURCH, NEW BELIEVERS, and for MISSIONARIES.
I. HOLD THE ROPES FOR THE CHURCH
A. THE CHURCH HAS HAD DANGEROUS HOURS
1. Like Paul trapped in Damascus, the Church has also had moments when it appeared its existence was in jeopardy. This is true of the Church as a whole, but also of individual churches in particular.
2. Just as it is important for the first church among a people group to survive, so it’s important for a local church in a community to survive; it is God’s vehicle to reach that community. Paul called the Church “the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15).
3.The local church must be maintained so that the next generation of citizens there may hear the gospel and themselves also perpetuate the Church for those who come after them.
B. HOLD THE ROPES OF THE LOCAL CHURCH BY BEING
1. FAITHFUL IN ATTENDANCE. Heb. 10:25, “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[of Christ’s return] approaching.”
2. FAITHFUL IN SERVING. Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
3. FAITHFUL IN GIVING. MAL. 3:8, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
II. HOLD THE ROPES FOR NEW BELIEVERS
A. WE SHOULD BELIEVE IN THEM
1. TEXT: ACTS 9:10-16
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." 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."
2. BELIEVE THEY HAVE CHANGED EVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT.
a. Let’s define this: What is a Christian? Someone who has confessed their sin, believes in Jesus as their Savior, and has turned from known sin in their lives.
b. We tend to put extra requirements in with that:
- Walk this aisle - Change clothing
- Use 14 Kleenex - “Pray through”
- Immediately change in certain ways so that “everyone will know.” Sometimes, it happens in a visible, dramatic way, and sometimes it doesn’t.
c. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying we shouldn’t look for fruit – we should. But we can’t see what is going on in their heart, their attitudes, and their thoughts! Until you see evidence to the contrary, why don’t you go ahead and believe in them!
3. BELIEVE THEY WILL CHANGE AS GOD GIVES THEM LIGHT.
a. Ananias hadn’t seen Paul’s life change. He argued with the Lord, reminding him about the way he used to live.
b. I totally understand the sentiment that says, “WELL. . . I wonder if they REALLY are born again.”
My problem is this: That attitude does NOTHING to provide the help and support that a new Christian needs!
4. BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS AN AMAZING PLAN FOR THEIR LIVES.
a. The Bible says, ‘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."’
b. That person who is wrestling with getting off drugs may be a pastor by the time God is done with them.
That person who is still living in the twisted wreck of their dysfunctional family may be a great missionary someday.
That person who is still shacked up at the time they first get saved may turn out to be the person who reaches dozens more of their family that need God.
c. If you think that they’ll always be an inferior brand of Christian because of their background, you’re flat wrong!
B. ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP
1. BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
a. “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."
2. BE BAPTIZED
a. “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.”
b. I can announce things from the pulpit until I’m blue in the face, but I’ll never be as effective as YOU are if you befriend someone who is a new Christian.
C. SPEND TIME WITH THEM
1. TEXT: ACTS 9:19 “So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus”.
2. If we spent as much time involving ourselves in the lives of people who pray at this altar as we do worrying about them, we’d see growth and change. We would see the opposite of what we’d been worrying about, if we take the time to give them the support they need.
D. SUPPORT THEIR MINISTRY
1. IS MINISTRY ONLY FOR THE MATURE? Some people think a Christian must wait until they “mature” to be able to minister to others.
2. Now, I’m aware that leadership has higher requirements. But simple ministry (meeting needs) is not the same as leadership (setting the course).
3. If we want our people to grow, we have to offer them the chance to use their gifts in the way that God designed them!
4. NOTICE THE ATTITUDE OF THOSE WHO HELD THE ROPES FOR PAUL:
a. THEY HELD THE ROPES INCONSPICUOUSLY
1). We don’t know their names.
2). We don’t know anything about them.
3). We don’t know where they came from.
4). We don’t know their occupations.
5). What we do know is that they held the ropes for Paul so that the Gospel could continue to be spread.
b. THEY HELD THE ROPES GALLANTLY
1). In the darkest hour of the night.
2). When they themselves needed rest.
3). Even though there was a danger for them.
c. THEY HELD THE ROPES OPTIMISTICALLY
1). They did so without knowing the future.
2). They did not know what Paul would accomplish.
3). They did not he would write almost 2/3 of the New Testament.
4). They didn’t know that some day he would take the gospel as far away as Rome and Spain.
5). They had no idea what great things God would use Paul to do, but they held the ropes.
6). Before grabbing the ropes they did not quiz Paul to make sure he was going to do things just like they would have, they simply grabbed the ropes and held on trusting God for the outcome.
d. THEY HELD THE ROPES PATIENTLY
1). They stayed at the task until it was complete.
2). They didn’t let the basket half way down and drop it.
3). They held on until Paul was safely at the bottom, out of the basket and on his way.
4). They stayed with the task until it was complete. When is our task complete? When God calls us home.
E. CONVINCE OTHERS TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE.
1. TEXT: ACTS 9:26-27 “And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
We might not have half the NT if Barnabas hadn’t been such an encourager!
2. LOOK AT THE RESULT!
31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of
the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
III. HOLD THE ROPE FOR MISSIONARIES
A. CHRISTIAN USE OF THE PHRASE
1. William Carey was born to a poor rural couple in England in 1761. He became a shoemaker, but felt an unswerving desire to take the gospel to the heathen as a missionary. In his day there was no missions movement.
2. When he began to share his missionary ideas, some said, "How Utopian!" One minister said, "Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your help or mine!" Such rebuffs did not dishearten him.
3. Later he answered such wrong thinking with his famous pamphlet, "An Inquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen". When a Baptist missionary society was finally formed, Carey offered himself as its first missionary.
B. MISSIONARIES SENT IN OUR PLACE
1. Obviously, missionaries must have support from their sponsoring churches in order to devote their full time to winning the lost.
2. If THEY are obligated to go, then WE are obligated to send them.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: A BLIND, ILLITERATE SOULWINNER
1. A missionary to Africa told the story of an elderly woman who was reached with the gospel. Though she was blind and could neither read nor write, she wanted to share her new found faith with others.
2. She went to the missionary and asked for a copy of the Bible in French. When she got it, she asked the missionary to underline John 3:16 in red and mark the page it was on so she could find it.
3. The missionary wanted to see what she would do, so one day he followed her.In the afternoon, just before school let out, she made her way to the front door.
4. As the boys came out when school was dismissed, she would stop one and ask if he knew how to read French. When
he said “Yes” she would ask him to read the verse that was marked in red.
5. Then she would ask, “Do you know what this means?” and tell him about Christ. The missionary said that twenty-four of the school boys that lady led to the Lord became pastors. [R. Kent Hughes]
B. THE CALL
1. You can be instrumental in raising up a new generation to lead this church into the future, just as Paul was destined to do great things for the kingdom of God.
2. But those things would never have been accomplished if some people hadn’t held the ropes that night.
3. If this church is to move forward winning this community to Christ we must have some faithful rope holders. May I ask you this morning; will you be a rope holder?
4. Salvation Call. Prayer.
