ACTS
Lessons in Courage
Dr. Tom Bartlett
September 29, 2019
Acts 22
OUTLINE
A Faith That Is D.A.R.I.N.G.
Dignified respect for opposition
“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. Acts 22:1-3
Assessment of your own personal failures
I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. Acts 22:4-5
Remembering your own conversion
“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 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 because of 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
Welcome to Steele Creek Church, Eastfield! My name is Tom and I’m one of the pastors here! When I was in school, I took up the sport of wrestling. I wrestled for my high school and then for my university. The challenge in wrestling is that while you may work on your conditioning and your strength and technic, you often have little knowledge of your opponent. Appearances can be deceiving too.
Stepping on to the mat in a tournament or a duel match against another school is one of the scariest and at the same time most exhilarating things I’ve ever experienced. To go mano e mano with the person you’re facing is thrilling. BUT here’s what I know about wrestling, often the biggest opponent was not standing in front of me, it was me.
Kind of strange right? But it’s true. AND, what I’m about to tell you is true for almost any challenge you face; going to school, a new career, weight loss, a move. The battle that is the most key happens inside your own heart and mind.
I can remember hearing my coach in high school who was a world class wrestler and the Pan American Champion the summer before he came to our school say that winning is a great habit and that losing as well can become a habit. Those words rung true in my mind once while in a tough match. Because my body was tired, my mind said, “losing one match won’t matter.” I’m in a physical battle, and now I have an intellectual and personal battle going in my own mind. I shook that thought aside and gave it my all not wanting to make losing a habit.
The Apostle Paul had numerous battles as well. He had a physical ailment that limited his ability to write with his own hands in a normal sized letters. He suffered from constant attacks, abuse, and stood toe to toe not with just one accuser, but many.
Where does a person find the strength to fight that battle, to face that challenge? When your body and your mind are competing against yourself in the same moment, you’re facing an opponent, where does the courage come from to keep going and fight on?
Last week we learned in one of the points that for Paul, the prize was worth the price and that the power of God is present in these times to fight with and for you.
You see, everyone in this room is exchanging their lives for something. Every paycheck you get represents an exchange of your services for that money. You do it so you can provide for yourself here and now, for most they’re working to not be succumb to the economy!
I want to challenge you to drop that mentality and start working to overcome. BE AN OVERCOMER!
I want to DARE you today to call up the courage that only Jesus Christ can bring in you, and face life with an overcoming attitude that not even death can take away what waits for you.
Paul could care less who he stood before. Up till now in the narrative, he’s stood before Jews and Gentiles, plain folks. But now, because of some circumstances, the remainder of the book of Acts deals with Paul standing before governors, leaders and even kings. God arranged this for him for the spread of the gospel and at no time did Paul cower because of fear, he pressed on in site of it!
We’re walking our way through the book of Acts and we’ve started a new series called, Lessons in Courage. Paul has now arrived at his desired destination, Jerusalem. He’s brought and offering for the needy there, but immediately he is faced with his opponent, his enemies.
The last portion of chapter 21 tells us that Paul met with the church leaders, he showed great humility by respecting the Jewish purification rituals. Living out a statement he made to the Corinthians that, he had become all things to all men, that he might win some. (1 Cor. 9:23)
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. The angry mob is still accusing him and everyone is saying speaking so much that the soldiers couldn’t make out what they were upset about.
What will he do? How will he handle this situation?
HE WOULD FACE THEM WITH DARING FAITH!
A Faith That Is D.A.R.I.N.G.
From Paul’s interactions we can see no less than 6 key ways to respond to opposition.
The first way is with a . . .
Dignified respect for opposition
Acts 22:1-3 “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.
Now, I’m not much of a linguist, but I try to learn a greeting in every language when ministering in other countries. A few weeks ago, a young Indian lady was our guest, when I found out she was from the southern region, I greeted her in her language. When in Haiti, I greet people in Creole.
First time in Kenya – hakuna matata (funny story)
Whatever the mob thought about Paul, he responded in their Hebrew language, actually “dialect”, not traditional Hebrew, but the language of the people, Aramaic. Not a formal but the everyday language.
The people listened; this was a sign of connection. “He must know us, he must understand us.”
Paul, gave them a dignified respect. In no way was he aggressive or demeaning. He found common ground; he dropped the name of Gamaliel his teacher.
Paul was motivated by the love of God and the goal of one day seeing God.
Next if you’re going to be real with someone, if you’re going to show them the difference Christ has made in your life, you must take an . . .
Assessment of your own personal failures
Being a Christian doesn’t mean you’re perfect, it means you’re forgiven!
Everyone here has a past and every one of us would be shocked by everyone of us if we knew ALL the details. Now, we don’t need to know all the details, but we shouldn’t walk around like we have it all together either.
Paul addressing this crowd points out his own failure in persecuting Christ followers before he understood their point of view.
Acts 22:4-5 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
Just imagine the weight Paul felt as he owned up to his own failure and his misguided zealousness to destroy something he didn’t understand.
Before Paul was the preacher, the bold evangelist and apostle, he was a legalistic pharisee who was well-set on destroying this movement called “the way.”
He didn’t try and hide it or act like it didn’t happen. You see, he’s setting these people up to see, experience, and receive the grace of God. HE’S DARING!
So, he respects them by speaking their language and understanding their culture, he doesn’t come across as a perfect example but shares his own failure. The next part of daring faith is to tell what happened by . . .
Remembering your own conversion
Now, when I say conversion, I really mean surrender. I’m talking about the day, the moment when you final said yes to the love of God and recognized that your sinfulness had separated you from a holy God and that all you could do was to throw yourself upon his mercy for salvation.
For me, it was June 26, 1976. You may not know the day, but there’s a good chance like Paul you know the place.
Paul continues
“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
Now Paul’s name was not changed from Saul to Paul as some teach. Paul like many in that region and still today had his Jewish name and his Roman name. Being that God would send him to the Gentiles, his Roman name made better sense. (The transition begins and ends in Acts 13. From then on Saul would be known as Paul).
A new direction in life, a new emphasis of his name and calling.
And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
Now, Paul didn’t know who this being was, but whoever he was, He knew this must be God. He says who are You Lord?
Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. Acts 22:6-11
It's interesting to me, this metaphor of seeing and understanding. Paul had to be blinded physically to get his attention enough for his spiritual eyes to be opened.
I’ve seen this over and over again. Someone rejects God till they’re at a place where all they have and all they need is God.
That’s the power of salvation. God can save murderers or liars, or whatever, HE CAN SAVE YOU!
So, Paul’s progression is profound. There’s humility, an honest assessment, then he tells his story. He then moves to the wonderful changes that Christ has brought to him.
END PART 1
Closing illustration
RESPONSE
