ACTS
Lessons in Courage
Dr. Tom Bartlett
October 6, 2019
Acts 22 (part 2)
OUTLINE
A Faith That Is D.A.R.I.N.G. (i. n. g.)
Dignified respect for opposition
“Brothers and fathers. . . he was addressing them in the Hebrew language. . .” Acts 22:1-3
Assessment of your own personal failures
I persecuted this Way to the death. . . Acts 22:4-5
Remembering your own conversion
“And I fell to the ground. . . who are you Lord?” Acts 22:6-11
Identifiable life-changes because of Christ
“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ Acts 22:12-16
New purpose in following Christ
“When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” Acts 22:17-21
Going forward courageously through Christ
Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.
But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. Acts 22:22-30
MANUSCRIPT
Good morning and welcome to Steele Creek Eastfield. My name is Tom Bartlett and I’m one of the pastors for this great church.
STORY OF COURAGE -
We’re in a new series called, Lessons in Courage. Paul has now arrived at his desired destination, Jerusalem. He’s brought an offering for the needy there, but immediately he is faced with his opponent, his enemies.
But quickly he was accused by the religious leaders and they ceased him and started to beat him. The Roman peace keepers jump in since their barrack were directly next to this Jewish religious site, often where Jewish religious skirmishes erupted, so the soldiers immediately came in and scooped Paul up from being mauled to death by these religious leaders. Half way up the stairs into the barracks the guard allows Paul to address the people.
Now everyone faces opposition in life. It may be physical, emotional, it may relational, or economic. It may be spiritual. Yet through out the Bible we are called to be courageous, to stand firm, to face life knowing God is with us.
From Paul’s interactions we can see no less than 6 key ways to respond to opposition.
A Faith That Is D.A.R.I.N.G.
[From part 1)
Dignified respect for opposition
Acts 22:1-3 “Brothers and fathers. . . he was addressing them in the Hebrew language. . .”
Assessment of your own personal failures
Being a Christian doesn’t mean you’re perfect, it means you’re forgiven!
Acts 22:4-5 I persecuted this Way to the death. . .
Remembering your own conversion
Acts 22:6-11 “And I fell to the ground. . . who are you Lord?”
PART 2
If your going to convince someone, you must tell them the wonderful difference that Jesus has made in your life.
Identifiable life-changes because of Christ
I received Christ at the age of 13 because my youth minister said, “if you do not see any changes in your life, you may not be a Christ follower.”
I went home after that youth meeting and literally knelt by my bed and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.
Paul begins to recount the work of God in his life. God encounters Paul while Paul was on his way to terrorize and murder Christians.
You may be on your own way, doing your own thing, then wham! God allows something to get your attention, to throw you down on your back, to stop you in your tracks. That happened to Paul. My advice to you is, if that’s where you are, look around because God always puts people in your life to guide you out of that and into what God wants.
Acts 22:12-16 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
The first thing we see is God using another man to help Paul. That’s how God works, HE USES PEOPLE! The first change was Paul gaining spiritual sight, then the regaining of his physical sight.
And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
You will be a witness of what you have seen and heard! No one can refute what God has done in your life.
ILLUSTRATION OF A LIFE CHANGED (Ms. Nadine's story)
Ananias tells Paul, God has chosen you to actually see and hear the Righteous One – Jesus. BUT, with that special revelation comes a special calling, to tell others so they can see and hear what He’s done in you!
He asks him for his first act of obedience, to be baptized signifying to all that he’s a true believer. As we follow Paul’s life, these are just the beginning of the changes that would come to him. Not only has God changed Paul’s eternal destiny, He’s also given him a . . .
New purpose in following Christ
God is the one who actually sends Paul away from Jerusalem.
He was a terrorist in their eyes, but God had a different purpose for this Greek speaking Roman citizen who happened to be a Jewish Pharisee. [Only God could have prepared Paul for this mission].
Think of it this way. Paul was preparing to be a pharisee, a lawyer who knew inside and out the OT. He studied it, he memorized it, he taught it. But he merely knew facts and not the author. He was a Roman citizen, highly educated. He knew the Greek and Jewish cultures. ALL THIS HE SIMPLY DIDN’T KNOW JESUS,
Now what was God doing in all that time before Paul knew Him? GOD WAS PREPARING HIM.
What I want you to see is that all those past mistakes, all hat preparation for something else, God will use for His great cause.
He continues
Acts 22:17-21 “When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
In the first part of Paul’s life, he was self-sent. He took it upon himself to eradicate the followers of “the way”. After an encounter with Jesus Christ, in the middle of one of his crusades to terrorize people, Paul’s life gets shifted.
The Lord tells him that because of his former life the people would not readily accept him. Paul agrees with God.
He reminds them that he was the one presiding over the stoning death of a giant of the faith, the first martyr – Stephen.
So now, instead of being “self-sent” Paul would be “God-sent.”
I think two of the most powerful letters in the English language are G and O. “GO”! God redirects Paul from his personal ambitions of greatness in killing Christians, from the self-focused life of adulation and praise from his peers, to a life of service in honor of the true master and Savior. Not for selfish gain, but for a heavenly purpose.
Ever wonder what you will do with your life? God is saying to you G and O, “GO”! A new life, a new purpose, and results that last forever.
Finally, in this DARING Faith we must be . . .
Going forward Courageously because of Christ
If you don’t think there will be opposition to your faith, you don’t understand our enemy. You must decide right now that you will be courageous in moving forward with you life mission, Paul did.
Acts 22:22-30 Up to this word they listened to him.
Here comes the shift. They listened till he said God sent him to the Gentiles. These Jews didn’t like the sound of that.
“Gentiles? Are you crazy? We’re the chosen ones. You’ve definitely lost it; God doesn’t love Gentiles!”
Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this.
National pride is one thing, but racism another. There is no superior “people” yet in every people group there are those who think that way. THE JEWS COULDN’T BELIEVE THAT PAUL WOULD GO TO THE GENTILES. Of course God only loves his chosen people us!
Now the guards were going to exercise, (examine) or call out of Paul (literally) what they wanted.
A polite way of saying that we will beat anything out of him we need and also appease these people.
But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.
Paul pulls the pedigree card on these men. It’s not that Paul was unwilling to be beat, that had happened already many times. It’s not that he was unwilling to die, he spoke that clearly in chapter 21. He simply knew that God said he would speak before Kings.
Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
Paul knew that there was more to do before the end would come for him.
In the last section of chapter 22 we see this plan of God start to unfold. From now on Paul would focus his testimony on Leaders and Kings and not just the average person. He would be in chains for the rest of his life.
But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
Closing illustration
RESPONSE
