The Calling of God
Acts 9:10-19a
March 29, 1998
Morning Service
Introduction
1. The Statue of Christ: Strasbourg was bombed during WWII, a small church was destroyed during the bombing, the people went to inspect the damage, they saw a great deal of broken glass and rubble, the roof had caved in and everything was destroyed, except one statue of Jesus, it was centuries old and was hand carved, the only thing wrong was that the statues hands had been severed by a falling beam, the people went to a sculptor to see if the hands could be replaced, the sculptor offered to do it for nothing - as a service to the church, the church decided to leave the statue as it was, the people of God are the hands of Christ, we are how God does His work, God works through us,
2. We are called to do the work of Jesus: We are the only business that gives out eternal life, we are the only business that gives a lasting hope and a lasting future, we are called to lead a dying world to Jesus, that is our business, How is business? Are we working hard or are we doing just enough work not to get fired?
Read Text
Body
I. God called Ananias out of his comfort zone
A. God calls Ananias: Ananias - disciple: believer in Jesus, converted Jew, citizen of Damascus, faithful and capable
B. Ananias had the ability: Ananias had two key qualities: available to do God’s work, he would go where God called him to go and when God called him to go, there was divine expectancy and urgency, Ananias had the ability to do God’s work, God never calls people to do something they are unable to do, God often calls us to do hard work but He enables us to do that work,
II. Ananias takes the risk
A. Ananias was reluctant: Ananias knew of Saul, the reputation he had earned as a Christian killer, Ananias knew why Saul was in Damascus, Ananias feared Saul of Tarsus - prison, torture or death, Saul was dangerous and Ananias knew it,
B. Ananias steps out in faith: God calms Ananias’ fears, God tells Ananias of Saul’s location, Saul’s current condition, Saul’s recent vision of Ananias and what God was planning to do through Saul
III. Obedience brings healing
A. Spiritual Healing: Saul had new life, old life was gone, Jesus had entered and made an eternal difference, Saul was no longer the religious Jew pursuing Christians - now he was a Christian, Saul was someone new, he was filled with the spirit, why? - he had an encounter with Christ
B. Emotional Healing: Saul is dazed and confused, his world has been turned upside down, he was confronted by the Jesus he was trying to stomp out, Saul now had to deal with many unwanted facts - new position in life, everything changed,
C. Physical Healing: Saul was given sight, new sight, Saul went blind after seeing Jesus, now Ananias’ obedience - restored Saul’s vision,
Application
I. Where is God calling us to go?
A. Where is God leading us?: Wherever He wants us to go, no one will ever come to this church unless they are invited, if you don’t invite them, who will?, we must go out, Wesley - the world is our parish, Firefighters being counseled after a deadly fire, several had burns from trying to reach two children, it was important that they reach those kids, they were going to die, people in our world are dying and going to burn in Hell that is far worse than a house fire, when was the last time you wept over a lost person?,
B. Are we willing to go? - It means getting dirty, we do not live in a clean world, it means associating with sinners, Jesus did it and we need to, it means stop making the people conform to our image of a Christian - God doesn’t clean his fish before they are caught, we can’t do it for Him, it means sacrifice of time and other resources, lost people must matter to us so much that we are burdened in prayer and action,
II. What are we called to do? Wesley’s five distinctive
A. We are called to win souls: When was the last time you lead someone to Christ?, When was the last time you were burdened to action?, when was the last time God placed a deep burden on your heart for someone to be saved?,
B. We are called to be a missionary church: We are to reach out to those in need, America is receiving lots of missionaries - Buddhists, Muslims & other false religions,
C. We are called to live a holy life: There are two passages that define holiness, Matthew 22:34-40, Matthew 28:16-20, holiness must be active and living or it is not true holiness, we get wrapped up in so many other things that holiness is lost, holiness is not defined by what we don’t do but is shown by what we do
D. We are called to believe God’s Word: That’s easy enough, we are also to do what is within the Word, we are to bring lost people to Jesus, we are to follow and obey,
E. We are called to rejoice: We have the message of hope and healing, we have Jesus’ love to have and to give, that is reason to rejoice, Paul writes - rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice, we have our hope in Jesus - true source of joy,
III. Who are we called to reach?
A. The people around us: We have been given a responsibility for the souls around us, we have been placed here for this time, we must do all that we can to reach lost people, our time here is but a drop in the span of eternity, we start with those closest to us and begin to pray
B. Everyone that Jesus died for: We can not pick and choose, Jesus didn’t do that, Jesus died to restore this lost world and all of the people in it, we must reach as many as we can, Why? - because Jesus loves them and he died to save them, we are called to be fishers of men but have we become keepers of the aquarium?,
IV. How will we see healing?
A. Be obedient to God: We will never be whole if we do not do God’s will, we will never see healing take place if we do not do God’s will, Now is the time to make ourselves available to God, do what He wants us to do & go where He wants us to go, we have the ability to do God’s will, he will empower us to do His work!
B. We must win the lost: This is not an easy task, Satan doesn’t give them up without a fight, we must become involved to the point of inconvenience, Jesus dying on the cross was not easy or convenient, it was hard with great sacrifice, He did it out of love, this must be the driving force of our church, some have said that they already know how to do this, start doing it!
C. Make disciples: We must train people in the ways of God, train them to be followers of Jesus, we are offering discipleship training - every member through discipleship in two years, we all have room to learn and grow in Christ,
