IT'S A LONG HARD ROAD.
Acts 9:9-19
There is a very real and dangerous misconception which has been circulating for some time among church folk. I don't know when, or how, it all began but it's present toll upon the individual lives of the followers of Jesus is mounting. The deadly idea which has been circulating is that Jesus will make everything all right, that no matter how bad our lives are at the present time, if we will only invite Jesus into our hearts as Lord and Savior then our situation will change. I am convinced that our situations will change, but I'm not convinced that our lives will change in the way we might hope.
For many of us, our image of Jesus is that of Walt Disney, Santa Claus, and Grandma rolled into one. Jesus is the One who will bring fun and frolic, the One who will take away every struggle and strain, and the One who will give us exactly what we want. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus has not come to make us comfortable, but rather He has come to be our Comfort in the struggles of life.
It is ironic that as much as we long for this utopia of ease, the stories we tell of the heroes of our faith are men and women who have suffered, struggled, and strained all the days of their lives. One such person was Isabella van Wagenen. Isabella was born a slave to a Dutch master in 1797. She was a deeply religious woman. With all odds against her she accomplished much for the Kingdom and for the King's people during her life. If Isabella were here speaking to us this morning she would tell you and me that that the force that brought her from the soul murder of slavery into the limelight of public advocacy was the power of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, it was Isabella's faith in Almighty God in the midst of her suffering that transformed her from Isabella, a domestic slave, into Sojourner Truth, a hero for every generation to come.
During her years in slavery Isabella watched helplessly as her children were sold to different masters. She was the object of severe physical abuse and sexual exploitation. The Civil War was a defining moment in her life. She was a staunch champion of the Union cause and spoke at meetings wherever she was invited. Her grandson, James Caldwell, entered the all-black 54th Massachusetts infantry (the unit immortalized in the 1989 movie Glory.) In 1864 she met President Abraham Lincoln, and later met his successors Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant.
This woman of remarkable faith was sensitized and mobilized to rise above her situation and make a difference for the Kingdom of God because of her deep sorrow and her deep trust in the power of God. She became an advocate for women's rights, temperance, and championed her people to depend on no person, no government, but on God alone. Not only was she to become a legend in her own lifetime, but many today consider her to be one of modern America's founding mothers.
If Sojourner Truth were an isolated case of a follower of Jesus experiencing deep suffering then we might be able to genuinely consider the question of why we struggle so, even those who trust deeply in God. Sojourner Truth is not the exception, she is the norm.
In 1962, Victor and Mildred Goertzel published a revealing study of 413 "famous and exceptionally gifted people" called Cradles of Eminence. They spent years attempting to understand what produced such greatness, what common thread might run through all of these outstanding people's lives. Surprisingly, the most outstanding fact was that virtually all of them, 392, had to overcome very difficult obstacles in order to become who they were.
At the Nicene Council, an important church meeting in the 4th century A.D. where the Church fathers canonized the books of the Bible we have with us today, of the 318 delegates attending, fewer than 12 had not lost an eye or lost a hand or did not limp on a leg lamed by torture for their Christian faith. Struggle and suffering are the harmony of the Christian life, not an interlude or bridge between laughter and frolic.
There is no greater illustration of this truth than the story we will look at today found in Acts 9:9-19. Before we take a look at our Scripture I need to catch you up on what has been taking place in the Book of Acts up to this point. Saul was getting ready to go to Damascus to harass the followers of Jesus and bring in as many of them as possible for prosecution by the authorities. Saul was seeking to eliminate the adversary to the faith, and the adversary as far as he was concerned were those men and women who were still clinging to the belief that Jesus was the anointed Messiah sent from God to bring salvation to all of humanity.
On his way to Damascus Saul was confronted by Jesus Himself who blinded Saul with His brilliance and gave him directions as to what he was supposed to do. As we come to our Scripture for today we see what the future would hold for Saul. Take a look at our Scripture for today found in Acts 9:9-19.
For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. {10} In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. {11} The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. {12} In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." {13} "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. {14} And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." {15} But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. {16} I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." {17} Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." {18} Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, {19} and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. (Acts 9:9-19 NIV)
It is so difficult for me to understand where this idea of ease and comfort comes from, when on every page of God's Word I read of the sufferings and struggles of God's people. I have come to the conclusion that the deep longing of the human heart is for comfort, ease, and a life without struggle - all of which are diametrically opposed to the will and ways of Almighty God. It is easy for us to say, "It's the American way," but after visiting with people from other parts of the world I have come to the conclusion that more than the "American way," this endless search for a life of "kicking back" is a human condition.
Just a few weeks ago Scott Spies who serves as a missionary to Russia spoke to many of us during Sunday school. Scott shared with us a prayer need that was on his heart. Scott wants us as a church to pray for the perseverance of the Russian people while they are making the transition from Communism to Capitalism. Things are difficult in Russia right now. The economy is bottoming out, jobs are scarce, and many of those who have jobs are not being paid. Scott told of teachers who live in his city who are going to school to teach the children who have not been paid in months. The Russian military is donning their uniforms day-in and day-out but they are not depositing any money in their bank accounts. Things are incredibly difficult for the Russian people at the present time from an economic standpoint. Scott's great fear is that if President Yeltsin dies the hard-liners who want to take the people back to Communism will play on the hard times of the people to convince them that the "good ole" days of Communism were better than their present reality. They didn't have much back then, but at least they had bread for their families and the stability of knowing another gray day would dawn in the morning.
You and I find it hard to believe that anybody who has ever lived under a Communist regime would ever even entertain the idea of going back, but all we have to do is remember the words of the Hebrew slaves who left the stability of slavery in Egypt to make their way to the Promised Land, a land they were uncertain of since they had never been there. Riddled with anxiety over the unknown, the slaves spoke up to Moses and said, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." (Exodus 16:3 NIV)
God provided food for the people, He met their needs as they made their way to their destination, but the people were never satisfied with God simply meeting their needs. In Numbers 11:5-7 they complained because the food was not good enough. The people said, "We remember the fish we ate for free in Egypt. We also had cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. {6} But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" (Numbers 11:5-6 NCV)
Those on their way to freedom in the Promised Land had all to quickly forgotten that they were slaves in Egypt! They didn't have all they wanted, they had what they were given. They were at the mercy of Pharaoh while they were in Egypt. In the midst of their struggle for freedom the Hebrews had convinced themselves that being at the mercy of a tyrannical ruler like Pharaoh was better than being at the mercy of Almighty God in the midst of struggle. How could that be? You ask such good questions! They were able to convince themselves of such lunacy because in Egypt they could depend on the constancy of oppression. While struggling through the desert on the way to freedom they could depend on nothing but the promises of God, promises which were not realized - yet. When they woke up in the morning they had no idea what the day would hold, but back in Egypt they knew each morning that their day would be filled with tromping mud, and if Pharaoh was in a good mood, mud and straw.
Aren't we strange?! We would rather have the constancy of tromping mud for Pharaoh than following God into the wilderness on our way to the Promised Land. Things have not changed from the days of the Hebrew slaves have they?!
I want us to take the time today to take a long hard look at the long hard road of discipleship which lies ahead for those of us here who truly desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We can begin our study right here in Acts 9, but it will serve as a springboard to the rest of God's Word and the struggles of His people.
Before we get to Saul and the struggles of his life, let's begin our study with a look at the man God used to restore sight to the blinded Saul. Ananias is an interesting man. The only other place we hear of him is when Saul remembers him while testifying before the Jewish people. Saul said of Ananias
A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. {13} He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him. {14} "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. {15} You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. (Acts 22:12-15 NIV)
Ananias was a godly man, a man who Saul says, "Stood by him," but that courage was not very prominent when Jesus first gave Ananias his orders. When Jesus appeared to Ananias and told him to go to the Street called Straight and lay hands on Saul so that he might receive his sight, Ananias balked. Ananias said, "Lord, haven't you heard about this guy? Everybody knows what he is up to - haven't you heard?"
Evidently there were some believers who had heard that Saul was on his way to Damascus and they hustled ahead of him to alert the folks of his coming. Ananias had heard all about Saul and he wanted nothing to do with the man whom he had heard was coming to persecute the followers of Jesus. When Jesus appeared to Ananias he was not so sure that Jesus hadn't missed the boat.
I'm so thankful for stories like this in God's Word. Who among us hasn't felt God's nudge to do something, say something, or get involved in some way, but when we have stopped to really consider, to rationally mull things over, we conclude that Jesus has confused us with someone else. Surely He would want us to feel safe and secure, to entertain the familiar instead of the mysteriously unknown. The Bible doesn't hide the fears and frailties of God's people and my friend God is not caught off guard by our fears and apprehension either. You may be afraid to get involved, to take on responsibility that you don't feel competent to carry out, but if God is calling you to leave your comfort, the constancy of Egypt, get up and go - He will be your competency when you feel incompetent or afraid.
I want us to turn our attention to one little section of Scripture found in our study this morning. When Jesus is convincing Ananias that he needs to go to Saul, Jesus says, {15} ..."Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. {16} I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
There are two very important lessons we need to pay special attention to this morning if we want to come to understand the long, hard road of discipleship. If we miss these lessons then you can be assured that the long, hard road will wear you out.
First, you need to notice that Saul's life was going to be a life of suffering. Jesus says, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." I love Eugene Peterson's translation of this verse - "Don't argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to Gentiles and kings and Jews. And now I'm about to show him what he's in for - the hard suffering that goes with this job." (Acts 9:15-16. The Message.) The primary lesson for you and for me is this - if we are willing to carry the name of Jesus we will carry the hard suffering that goes with the job. Let's get honest for a moment; that is no Madison Avenue public relations campaign like I have ever seen. There are no enticing babes, no rock hard abs promised to those who will carry the Name to the world, no sandy beaches or gently blowing breeze - Jesus promises none of the above. What He does promise is that it is going to be a long, hard road.
The road is long and hard, difficult by all means, but the road leads somewhere my friend. We are not wandering aimlessly through life, we are destined. If we are destined we will most certainly arrive!
Why is it that when suffering comes, and come it will in many forms and fashions, that we automatically question, "Where is God?" "Why has God forsaken me?" and we claim "The devil is attacking me." The Bible teaches us that there is purpose in suffering, struggle, and trails.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, {3} because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. {4} Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4 NIV)
Paul, the man once named Saul, wrote in Romans about the purpose of suffering. Paul saw that we need not simply endure suffering, but we can rejoice in our suffering if we know that we are suffering for a purpose. Suffering with no purpose is a sentence of death, but suffering with purpose securely set in our hearts and minds initiates a process of growth, the development of strength and character, and the hope of the glory of heaven. Paul writes,
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, {2} through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. {3} Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; {4} perseverance, character; and character, hope. {5} And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:1-5 NIV)
When we suffer persecution, sickness, financial ruin, death, or family turmoil we too quickly rush judgment and blame Satan - thus missing God's divine purpose for trials and sufferings. Have you ever known anyone who played the blame game who benefited in any way? Absolutely not! When we blame we lose, when we look to Almighty God we gain direction and hope.
You can find every sort of suffering imaginable in God's Word. John the Baptist knew persecution, but God had a purpose. Paul had an affliction he asked for God to remove, but God said, "When you are weak I am strong" - God had a purpose. Job knew financial ruin, but God had a purpose. Mary watched her little boy hang on a cross and cry out in agony, but God had a purpose. David knew family turmoil, but God had a purpose. When trouble comes stop blaming and start looking to heaven for the hidden purposes of God.
Stephen Hawking is an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and perhaps the most intelligent man on earth. He has advanced the general theory of relativity farther than any person since Albert Einstein. Stephen Hawking is also afflicted with ALS Syndrome (Lou Gehrig's disease). It will eventually take his life. He has been confined to a wheelchair for years, where he can do little more than sit and think. Hawking has lost the ability even to speak, and now he communicates by means of a computer that is operated from the tiniest movement of his fingertips.
Omni magazine said of Dr. Hawking: "He is too weak to write, feed himself, comb his hair, fix his classes--all this must be done for him. Yet this most dependent of all men has escaped invalid status. His personality shines through the messy details of his existence."
Hawking said that before he became ill, he had very little interest in life. He called it a "pointless existence" resulting from sheer boredom. He drank too much and did very little work. Then he learned he had ALS Syndrome and was not expected to live more than two years. The ultimate effect of that diagnosis, beyond its initial shock, was extremely positive. He claimed to have been happier after he was afflicted than before. How can that be understood? Hawking provided the answer.
"When one's expectations are reduced to zero," he said, "one really appreciates everything that one does have." Dr. Hawking stopped believing that life owed him something and began to live with purpose for each new day that dawned. When we come to the conclusion that God does not owe us anything, but that we are totally dependent upon Him for our very existence, then we can begin to travel down the long, hard road. When we come to the conclusion that we are not above suffering and struggle, and when we resign ourselves to the simple truth that we been given life to bring glory to God and nothing else, only then can we live with the purpose God has intended, only then can struggle and suffering be understood for what they are, opportunities to trust in Almighty God more than we trust in ourselves and to bring glory to His holy name.
If we will surrender ourselves completely to Almighty God and see His hand at work in our suffering and struggles, then the pressures of life can serve as the fertilizer of our soul. Most of the Psalms were born in difficulty. Most of the Epistles were written in prisons. Most of the greatest thoughts of the greatest thinkers of all time had to pass through the fire. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale, too ill to move from her bed, reorganized the hospitals of England. Semi-paralyzed and under the constant menace of apoplexy, Pasteur was tireless in his attack on disease. During the greater part of his life, American historian Francis Parkman suffered so acutely that he could not work for more than five minutes at a time. His eyesight was so wretched that he could scrawl only a few gigantic words on a manuscript, yet he contrived to write twenty magnificent volumes of history.
Second, you need to notice that Saul was chosen by Jesus Himself. Jesus told Ananias, But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel." (Acts 9:15 NIV) It was no accident that Saul found himself in the situation he was in or for that matter, any situation he would ever find himself in. Saul was chosen by Jesus himself! I've got good news for you - you have been chosen by Jesus.
You may ask, "What difference does that make in how I perceive the struggles I am going through?' I say it makes all of the difference in the world. If I am simply struggling for struggles sake then you can have it. I don't know about you, but I've never really enjoyed struggling of any kind. I don't enjoy being ill, I never enjoyed two-a-days in the summer heat, I don't really get too excited about being persecuted, maligned, and lied on, and I don't really look forward to the pains that seem to come my way. If I did not know that I was chosen by God, that He knows full well what I am going through, and that He will more than see me through, He will enable me to bring glory to His name, then I would be suicidal. I know that I am chosen by God. He knows my name, He's got my address memorized, and He is completely steeped in the intimate details of my life. Knowing that, my struggles take on a different light. They do not hurt any less, the tears still flow, but I will not stop serving my King! I am convinced that because He has chosen me, my suffering and struggles will be used by Him to bring glory to His name. I am also convinced that if I continue to serve my King, one day I will look back and see the meaning in what now seems to me to be so mysterious and unclear.
The great writer, Malcolm Muggeridge, who converted to Christianity late in life said, "Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness." (Malcolm Muggeridge, in Homemade, July, 1990)
I am convinced that this morning God has spoken to some of you who have been resisting His voice. Resist no more. Won't you choose Jesus as Lord of your life and allow Him to work through your life to bring glory to His name and purpose to your life?
Mike Hays
922 NW 91st
Oklahoma City, OK. 73114
September 8, 1996
