The Safety In Surrender
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Intro
Intro
10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
Compare verses 4-5 to verse 9.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John
Sometimes,
Saul, a pharisee, an expert in the word of God, did not recognize the voice of God. It is not knowledge of the word that defines your relationship with Christ, it is not knowledge of the word that allows you to know God, it is not knowledge of the word that brings salvation, but to know our shepherd, we must know His, we must spend time with Him, trust Him and follow Him daily. It’s not about how much you learn while you are here, but how you live when you’re out there!
You know what’s sad? Sometimes even Christians, the ones who are supposed to have surrendered everything to Christ, make a choice not to hear His voice. It becomes a chore to hear God’s voice. We are too busy, we don’t have time, I have more important things to do, I’m exhausted. Spending time with God takes a back seat to everything else. Being the church is no longer something we get to do, but something we have to do.
We should be excited and look forward to our time with God. Reading, praying, church, serving, worshipping through music should be the things that keep us going during the week and coming here on a Sunday or Wednesday should be a sanctuary for us. Coming together as the church should make us feel safe regardless of what we are going through in our lives.
I’ve entitled today message The Safety In Surrender.
Saul didn’t recognize the voice of Jesus because he was far from Him, but Ananias did, and he was ready to hear what Jesus had to say.
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.
Acts 9:11-
If you have ever thought that our God was a distant God. If you have ever had the idea that our Creator was a disconnected Creator. If you have ever thought that our Heavenly Father was an absentee Father, I want you to know right now that our God knows exactly where you are. He’s a bit of a stalker you see, because He knows what country you are in, what state, what county, what city, He knows the street you are on, the house you are in, what room of the house you are in and He knows what you are wearing. He knows if you are sleeping, He knows if you’re awake, He knows if you’ve been bad or good, and NO, this ain’t Santa, it’s the Lord God Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, Beginning and End!
He knows exactly where you are in life, what you’re dealing with, struggling with, hurting about, crying over, He knows your hopes, and dreams, your mind and your heart. Not the words that come from your mouth, but the truthfulness of our hearts. We may try to avoid seeing ourselves as we truly are, but we cannot hide ourselves from God. He sees every ugly thing inside of us that we work so hard to hide from everyone else, and He still chooses to love us. It’s because of who He is, not who we are.
There is Safety In Surrender
Ananias is told exactly where to find Saul, but I want us to take note of what Saul is doing. ‘for behold, he is praying.’ This is very significant, because Saul, being a pharisee, was very skilled and experienced at prayer. But up until now, his prayers had been those of tradition and routine. This prayer was one of humility and surrender. Prayer is not about big, impressive words. Prayer is about heart. It’s about having an genuine and intimate conversation with our Father.
Acts 9:12-
12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
Ananias was more than a little concerned about having to go and look for the man that was responsible for so much turmoil and havoc for the church and for good reason. ‘You mean I gotta go and find Saul, The Saul?!
Again, we are very good and very quick to pass judgment on who deserves grace and who is worthy of salvation.
Why is that we don’t share the Gospel with everyone we meet? Why do we pass some people up and not others? Because in our minds, we are judging whether or not they would be receptive to what we have to say. We are saying ‘NO’ for them without even talking to them because of how they make us feel when we look at them! It is not our job to decide who gets the opportunity to go Heaven and who doesn’t, it is our job to share the Gospel with everyone and let them decide how they will respond.
Ananias was nervous about what God had asked him to do.
Listen to the Jesus’ response to Ananias.
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Acts 9:
It is God who chooses His vessels and makes us worthy.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
It’s not our place to assign worth or validity to what God has chosen and ordained. God reveals Saul’s purpose to Ananias, and it’s BIG! This is the transition from Israel (God’s chosen people), to the rest of the world. Saul has been called to spread the Gospel beyond the Jewish people. And the
fact is, that we have this exact same call on our lives! Because we have the same call, we also have the same burden.....the burden of suffering for it.
Anyone who bears the name of Christ will suffer. The more we do, the more we will suffer, and to teach anything else is a disservice. If we are teaching believers that the Christian life is one of happiness and free from worry or struggle or pain, then we are lying and setting them up for failure. We must expect suffering, but know promise and the reward of salvation and everlasting life through Jesus Christ. We are going to suffer. We will hurt and struggle and question and not understand, but the peace comes in knowing who it is we belong to and the promises He has made to us.
There is Safety In Surrender
Acts 9:1
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
Ananias calls Saul, ‘Brother’. This not only shows us Ananias’ obedience and trust in Christ, but it shows his acceptance of Saul into the church. Instead of judging and condemning Saul for his past sins, he welcomes him into the family. I need you to think about how this must have made Saul feel. After everything he had done, allowed, and taken part in, his sins had been forgiven and the people he once hunted, now called him ‘brother’. To have an encounter with Jesus, be ruined by His love, surrender to His truth, be forgiven by His grace, be filled with the Holy Spirit, have your sight restored and then be baptized as a member of the body of Christ. I can tell you first hand, it’s a feeling that cannot be described, only experienced.
Here’s where we bring everything around.
As we go through this part of Saul’s life, we see the Gospel. The love of God, the offense of sin, the sufficiency of Jesus, the personal response from Saul, life transformation, and the call to go out and share this gift with the rest of the world.
But there is another story here that we need to be aware of. The story of Ananias. Ananias was called by God to reach out to Saul. To ease his suffering, encourage him, be a blessing to him, build him up and strengthen him.
Here is the question. Which one of these men are you today?
The correct answer is both. Every single one of us is called to surrender to Christ. We are called to share the Gospel, we are called to suffer, and every single one of us is also called to reach out, encourage, bless, build up and strengthen those around us.
If we fail at doing either one of these, we become fractured and ineffective.
The power of the church is not in the style of music we play or the charisma of the pastor. The church is not about music, we can listen to music on our own. It is not about preaching, we can pull up any pastor we want and listen to him whenever we want. The church is about community. Our power comes from our love and unity under God and in each other.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
It’s this love that attracts people to Jesus. It’s this love that keeps people coming back week after week. It’s this love that transforms the heart of person and they go from having to go to church to wanting to go to church. We were not meant to follow God on our own. We were created for community and fellowship with one another. That is why we come together when we do, to celebrate together, worship together, support each other, and do life together.
There are many people in this room today that are suffering. Marriages, finances, children, health, family. They come here to be lifted up and to be given some hope to carry them through the week. But i tell you this, a Sunday message is not enough, a few songs are not enough, a SS lesson is not enough to get us through. It takes recognizing the voice of the shepherd, trusting that He knows exactly where we are and what we are going through, and being held in the arms of Christ through it all!
There is a Safety in our Surrender to Christ. It’s a spiritual safety in Christ Himself. As the body of Christ, that safety extends to the church.
There is a Safety in our Surrender to Christ. It’s a spiritual safety in Christ Himself. As the body of Christ, that safety extends to the church.
I challenge you church, to be the Sanctuary. Be the Peace. Be the Safety that the person next to you needs. That’s why we are here, together.
Prayer