Getting To Where God Wants You to Be
Text: Acts 9:1-6; 13-19
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Subject: “Getting To Where God Wants You to Be”
All of us, at whatever stage of life that we’re currently living in, are somewhere. All of us, in our walk with God, in our walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in our walk with our counselor, our confidante, and our comforter – the Holy Ghost – are somewhere. All of us who are students, trying to get the best possible education, albeit in elementary school, middle school, high school, junior college, college, or graduate school, are somewhere. All of us, who work for a living and maintain jobs to support or supplement the needs of our families are somewhere. All of us who have been blessed with enough longevity to retire and enjoy the fullness of life are somewhere. All of us, here in the church, in our youthfulness, in our mid-life crisis, or in our golden ages, are somewhere. Everywhere we are is somewhere. Everything we do leads to somewhere. Every time we move, we are moving somewhere. But what you need to know and understand this morning is that not all of us are in the same place, although all of us are somewhere. Am I right about it?
My brothers and sisters, it becomes my sad duty to inform some of you, and I know that some of you already know, that everyplace we are right now, is not necessarily where God wants for us to be. Can I get a witness?
If you are living in a place where alcohol and drugs have become your next best friend, then you are not where God wants for you to be.
If you are lying, cheating, and stealing, then you ought to know that you are not where God wants for you to be.
If you are sleeping around, calling yourself a “playa, playa” – and don’t be fooled, there are just as many so called lady “play playas” as there are men, but we just give them a different name, like prostitute or whore or slut – but I’m here to tell you that male or female, it’s still the same thing. If you’re a man whoring around then you’re still a whore. If you’re a man giving up your body for financial gain, you’re still a prostitute – If this is where you are today, living in “Playa Playa-ville,” then you are not where God intends for you to be.
If you don’t have love in your heart for your brothers or sisters, let alone your neighbor or yourself, then you are not where God wants for you to be.
If you are still praying the Lord’s prayer, the model prayer, or some other prayer that you and everyone else around you have memorized because you’ve publicly prayed it so much, and you don’t have a praying relationship with the Lord, then you are not where God want for you to be.
If you are still putting 50 cents to a dollar in the collection plate, despite God blessing you with more than you need; if you are bringing your scraps, your leftovers, to God’s house, but you’re expecting a full course meal in return, then you are not where God wants for you to be.
I’ve said all of this because I want you to know that although all of us are somewhere, and that somewhere may be a long way from where we used to be, most of us have still not yet reached the place where God wants us to be.
Instead, a whole lot of us have reached locations where WE want to be. We have become so content in where WE are that we are no longer striving to get to the place that God has reserved for us to be. Am I talking to somebody in here this morning?
You see our text this morning finds Saul in a place where most of us can find ourselves. Saul was in a very lowly and precarious place. After his presence at the stoning of Stephen, Saul had become one of the chief persecutors of the church. His reputation had spread far and wide as one who would go to any lengths to protect his faith in Judaism, murder included, by dissuading people from following in the way of Jesus the Christ.
So our text begins by telling us that Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples. In other words, he was still an adversary to God’s people. Saul did not know Jesus Christ. He was not a part of those walking in the way of Christ. He had not been converted. He had not been saved. He had not been baptized. He was not where God wanted him to be, and yet he was everywhere that HE wanted to be for himself.
Saul was a devout Jew, which means also that he was a very religious man. He was a church going man. He knew old testament Scripture having been raised at the feet of Gamiel, one of the most illustrious rabbis of Saul’s day. As a Roman citizen and soldier, he had power and prestige. He had respect and influence. He was everywhere HE wanted to be and everywhere he THOUGHT that he should be. Can I get a witness?
And right here in the year 2003, there are a whole lot of Saul’s right here in the church. Some of the Sauls are good, devout Baptist folk. They are very religious people. They are always in the church and never miss a Sunday. They are at Bible study and prayer meeting. They are at Sunday school on Sunday morning. They have reached a level of power and prestige in the church. They have respect and influence within the congregation. Some even have reached a level of respect on their jobs and in their communities. They are everywhere that they want to be.
And yet, just like Saul, they don’t know Jesus. Just like Saul, they are still causing confusion among people living in the way. Just like Saul, they are still adversaries to God’s people. Just like Saul they are still not a part of the ways of Jesus Christ. Just like Saul, they have not yet been saved. Some of them have been dunked in the water and called it baptism, but they weren’t agitated. Well what do you mean they weren’t agitated Brother Pastor. Well it’s just like your washing machine has to agitate the clothes in order for the clothes to become clean. IF the agitator on your washing machine isn’t allowed to work, all the clothes you put in calling yourself washing them, will come out wet, but they’ll still be dirty. Have I got a witness?
Our spiritual agitator is the Holy Ghost. Modern day Sauls have not allowed themselves to be baptized by the fire of the Holy Ghost. They’ve been wet, they’ve been in the water, but they’re still dirty. They have not been born again. They have not become new creatures in Christ Jesus. But just like Saul, God is not through with them yet. As a matter of fact, just like Saul, God is not through with most of us sitting here in the church this morning. Turn to your neighbor and say: “Neighbor, God is not through with me yet.”
God wasn’t through with Saul and God’s not through with you and I. Saul was in a place, but he wasn’t in the right place. He wasn’t in the place where God had designated for him to be. A lot of us are in a place, but we are not in the place where God wants for us to be. We’re in a place of darkness. We’re in a place where we’re still experiencing sadness and sorrows. We’re in a place where our finances are out of control. We’re in a place where our jobs are unfulfilling. We’re in a place where our family life seems like a walk in hell. But turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor to “hold on our light is on the way!”
The Bible tells us that as Saul was on the road to Damascus a light brighter than the sun blinded him. As he fell down to the ground he heard a voice but saw no one. The Bible records that the voice said “Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me?”
My brother and sisters you ought to know that when you persecute any child of Jesus Christ, you are also persecuting Christ. When you backstab one of the children of Christ you are essentially turning the knife in the back of Jesus. When you use deadly poison from a viperous tongue, you are virtually killing Jesus all over again. For the Bible tells us that there is one body of Christ with many members. Christ is the head of that body. And you may as well know that you cannot harm the arms, the legs, the fingers, the toes, or the eyes without the head knowing about it and also being tormented and persecuted because of the pain. Have I got a witness in this place?
But in Saul’s case, God stepped in and put a stop to it. Saul was stricken with a physical blindness. The Bible says a light shone down from heaven that was brighter than the sun. Saul fell down to the ground and could not see anything around him. It was because of this physical blindness that God was finally able to get Saul’s attention. It was because of his physical condition that Saul stopped and asked the question, “Who are you, Lord.” If God had not stricken Saul with a physical blindness, Saul would have continued persecuting the church and believing that he was right in what he was doing. If God had not physically stricken Saul down, Saul would not have come to know who Jesus is. It was because of his physical condition of being blind that Saul discovered that he was also spiritually blind. In other words, my brothers and sisters, Saul could not recognize his spiritual blindness without God stepping in and first striking him down physically. Have I got a witness?
And just like Saul, it will take God himself to step in and strike some of us down physically before we will take a good look at our own spiritual blindness. Then and only then will we realize that the Jesus we created in our own minds is NOT the same Jesus that hung, bled, and died on Calvary’s cross. The Jesus that we created to meet us in OUR place, is NOT the same Jesus who wants us to move to His place. The Jesus that we proclaim to follow despite all of our constant wrongdoings is NOT the same Jesus who could do no wrong. And once we discover this, once we realize that we are suffering from the acute condition of spiritual blindness, then it becomes our duty to stop and ask the same question that Saul asked: “Who are you, LORD?” Have I got a witness in here?
Jesus revealed who he was Saul and the Bible tells us that Saul asked another question: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Once Saul had asked who Jesus was, and once Jesus revealed who he was to Saul, Saul couldn’t help but ask Jesus, “What do you want me to do? My brothers and sisters, the reason some of us are lost right now, the reason some of us don’t know where we are or where we’re going is because we haven’t stopped to ask Jesus what HE want us to do. Have I got a witness?
Jesus told Saul to go to the city of Damascus. That’s where Jesus wanted Saul to be. He didn’t tell him to hesitate. He didn’t tell him to procrastinate. He didn’t tell him to make a pit stop along the way. But he told him to go to the city where he would be told what to do.
My brothers and sisters, if Jesus tells you to go somewhere, you better believe that he’s already made provisions for you before you get there. Let me say that again, because I feel a shout coming on. IF Jesus tells you to go somewhere, you better believe that He’s already made provisions for you before you even get there. Tell your neighbor: “God will provide.”
Your shelter will be provided for you. The Bible says that the rest of the soldiers, because of Saul’s blindness, led him by hand into the city of Damascus and apparently left him there. But when Ananias arrives to heal Saul and give him directions, Saul was in a house. He had a roof over his head. Ain’t the Lord alright?
The Bible tells me that when Ananias prayed for Saul, Saul received his sight and something that looked like scales fell from his eyes. And you need to know that when you receive your spiritual sight, it will be just like that. You will be able to see things that you couldn’t see before. You will have things revealed to you that didn’t make sense to you before. You will discover things, that were there all the time, but they were a mystery to you before. When you receive your sight, you will almost be to where God’s intends for you to be. Tell your neighbor: “I’m almost there.”
When God opens your eyes, he will also baptize you with the Holy Ghost. The Bible tells me that after receiving his sight, Saul was baptized by Ananias. He was no longer just dipped in some water, but now he was filled with the Holy Ghost. Have I got a witness?
There’s something special about being baptized with the Holy Ghost.
It is the Holy Ghost that will comfort you when you’re feeling down and out. It is the Holy Ghost that will be your protection from any and all danger.
It is the Holy Ghost that will make ways for you when it looks like there is no way. Ain’t the Lord alright?
The Bible tells me that after Saul was baptized, he was fed. He received meat to eat to give him strength for the work he was about to do for the Lord. And just like Saul, you will have plenty of food to eat and water to drink when your care is in the hands of the Lord. You won’t have to worry about any of your necessities, when you let go and let God. Because if Jesus tells you to go someplace, then he’s already got people in place that will wait on you hand and foot and tell you where Jesus wants you to be. Ain’t the Lord alright?
Ananias was afraid to go to where Saul was. He knew the reputation Saul had for persecuting the saints. And yet, because the Lord told Ananias to go, he went, healed Saul, and delivered a message from the Lord.
My brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that getting to where God wants you to be is not only about a physical location; but it is also about a spiritual location. The Bible tells me that when Saul had eaten and had received his strength back, that he didn’t leave Damascus, but he stayed there for a few days. But while he was there, he wasn’t just hanging around doing nothing. Instead, the Bible tells us that he straightway went to the temple and began preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. I said he immediately went to the house of the Lord to tell somebody what the Lord had done. Ain’t the Lord alright?
I don’t know about you this morning, but when GOD changed me – and I’m not talking about a self-proclaimed change – but I mean when he really reached down and put love in my heart; when he reached down and put clapping in my hands; when he reached down and baptized me with the fire of the Holy Ghost; when he reached down and touched my spiritual eyes and let me see things that I could not see before; that’s when I knew that I was now where God wanted me to be. Ain’t the Lord alright?
And I’m here to tell you this morning, that when you get to THAT PLACE, that place that God has reserved just for you, you will find joy in that place. Have I got a witness?
There’s peace in that place.
There’s deliverance in that place.
No more sorrow.
No more sadness.
No more heartache.
No more heartbreak.
No more lying.
No more cheating.
No more backstabbing.
No more mistreating.
If you want to be in the right place, if you want to be where God want you to be, you’ve got to surrender yourself to Jesus. I heard the songwriter say,
All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever, always trust him
In his presence, anywhere.
I surrender all.
I surrender all.
Many of you are ready and willing to surrender all for Jesus. But some of you may still be thinking “Why should I surrender may all to Jesus?”
I can answer that in two words:
He died……….
