Sermon - Acts 9:7-21 - “My Chosen Instrument”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church
Sermon - Acts 9:7-21 - “My Chosen Instrument”
April 18, 2010

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Good morning and welcome to Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church on this glorious Spring Day, our Lord’s Day and this third Sunday of Easter. I am continuing my series of sermons on the reactions to the resurrection. Our method of study comes from the first century Jewish scholar, Gamaliel, who suggested that if the resurrection was true we would see God’s transformative effects on the followers of Jesus and they would be successful in bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ. But if the resurrection was a hoax then we would expect the followers of Jesus to scatter go back to their old lives and live in obscurity. So by looking at what happened to the followers of Jesus we can determine whether or not the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is true. And we know that belief in the resurrection is crucial for our eternal lives. So let’s get to this important work, but first please pray with me.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Seven years ago I attended two weddings just a couple of weeks apart. Old friends were getting married. There was great joy and celebration those days. Each couple loved each other very much and there was great hope for both of these marriages. But this past week I learned that both of these couples have separated. The passion that once brought them together has turned into anger which has pushed them apart. This has caused me to reflect this week on the relationship between passion and anger.

I have seen new Christians come to faith in Jesus Christ with great passion. This passion is shown in their strong desire to worship, pray and study scripture. But sometimes, after a while, when their expectations of the faith are not met their passion turns to anger and they leave the church. Sometimes this happens when they pray for healing for loved one, healing that never comes. Sometimes they pray for a job that they never get. Sometimes they expect to always experience joy as a Christian and are shocked when they still experience pain, grief and guilt.

So it occurs to me that both marriages and faith start with great passion and expectations, but these passions can turn to anger if our expectations are not met.

We can see all of this in the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Jew growing up in Turkey in a small city called Tarsus. He was named after the first king of Israel, Saul, his Hebrew name. He was passionate about his faith. As a young man he was sent to Jerusalem to study with the great rabbi, Gamaliel. He was so passionate about studying and obeying scripture he became a Pharisee. He was passionate about keeping his faith pure and this required that everyone obey God’s commands.

But his passion turned to anger whenever he thought that his faith was being corrupted. He was angered by Greek and Roman influences on Judaism. And when a Jewish sect, call the Way, began proclaiming their crucified leader as God his anger turned violent. Paul formed a group of thugs to harass these heretics. And one incident led to the death of one of the leaders of the Way, Stephen. As a result of Paul’s gang-like activity the followers of Jesus Christ went underground. Many of the Way fled Jerusalem while the leaders went into hiding. It appeared that Paul’s violent efforts were successful.

When Paul heard that a group of heretics had fled to Syria he received diplomatic permission to go to Damascus to arrest the heretics and bring them back to Jerusalem to be thrown in jail. And it was while Paul and his thugs were on their way to Damascus that Paul was stopped by a bright light which blinded him.

Just as God had appeared to Moses in a burning bush, the risen Jesus Christ appeared to Paul in that bright light. And Paul began to realize that he was not persecuting heretics; rather he was persecuting his own God. And this brings us to today’s scripture lesson.

Acts 9:7-21 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 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. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"

These are legitimate questions being asked. What happened to Paul to transform him from a violent thug into a great evangelist? Let’s take a look.

As a result of the experience of blindness Paul was given an opportunity to rest from his anger and think deeply about his faith. We are told that he spent three days praying. We know that Paul then went back to Jerusalem where he continued with daily prayers in the temple. And it was prayer that caused his anger to dissipate so that he could accept the reality that Jesus had been raised from the dead. It was through prayer that Paul experienced the reality of the Holy Spirit to help him pray as he should and reveal to him the wisdom of God. He found out that through prayer his faith would be perfected. Paul offered prayers every morning and evening. And it was through prayer that Paul found the ability to boldly proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead.

Through prayer the great persecutor of the church became its greatest evangelist. Paul set for himself the goal of bringing faith in Jesus Christ to everyone living around the Mediterranean. Paul taught in synagogues and setup churches in people’s homes. The letters he wrote to these churches are the earliest writings in our New Testament. It is through the Apostle Paul that we understand what faith in Jesus Christ means.

So let’s apply our test from Gamaliel. Do we see the kind of transformation in Paul that would lead us to believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was an historical fact? There is no doubt to the answer to this question. By his encounter with the risen Jesus, Paul was transformed from a persecutor of Christians into a passionate evangelist bringing many people to the faith. It was through Paul’s efforts that gentiles, non-Jews, began coming to faith in Jesus Christ is large numbers. This transformation in Paul’s life indicates that something extraordinary had happened. And we know that what did happen was nothing less that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

So what do we do if, like Paul, our passion has turned to anger? What should we do if we begin to hate the ones we once loved? What should we do if our passion for the faith turns to anger? The promise of scripture is that if you pray your anger will be transformed into passion and love. And this is why we worship the way we do. Worship gives us time for prayer. Just as Paul needed three days of blindness to have time for prayer we need time set aside each day for prayer. And that is why we have our Sunrise Prayer Services and our worship on Sundays. It carves out time in our busy days for prayer. And this prayer will transform our lives.

If our lives are transformed the people of Pocomoke will notice that something has happened to this church just as the people of the first century noticed that something had happened to Paul. If others see that we are transformed they will want to join with us in that transformation. So pray that passion for the faith will return to our hearts and that this passion will attract others into our fellowship.

So we have seen in the transformation of Peter and Paul that the resurrection of Jesus Christ must be true and that through the work of the Holy Spirit and through the practice of daily prayer we too will be transformed as proof of the resurrection. This transformation will remove our anger and restore to us our passion for the faith. And all of this is a gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, we pray today asking that you remove our anger and restore to us our passion. Bless us with this transformation as proof of your resurrection from the dead. And use it to bring new people to our church. This we pray in your glorious name. Amen.