Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #24485 - Waiting on God is Worth it - Acts 22

Transcript

#24485 - Waiting on God is Worth it - Acts 22 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:04
Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
0:08
Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
0:12
To learn more about the many resources available through
0:14
Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
0:18
visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
0:24
Calvary Church app. Now.
0:25
Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
0:30
Amen. Open your Bibles.
0:31
Acts chapter 22 is where we are. Acts chapter 22 and I've been
0:37
titled our Bible study. Waiting on God is worth it.
0:41
Waiting on God is worth it. But I also could have titled
0:46
this message, Waiting on God doesn't always end up the way
0:51
that you thought it would. That's a long title, so I chose
0:54
the shorter one. But waiting on God doesn't
0:57
always end up the way you thought it would.
1:00
And there is a right way to wait on God and a wrong way.
1:04
So let me clear it up. At the very beginning of our
1:06
study, there is a significant difference between waiting on
1:10
God, which is the right way, and waiting on circumstances, which
1:16
is the wrong way, waiting on God.
1:19
There are promises that are given to you and me for those of
1:22
us that choose to wait on God in accomplishing what He wants to
1:27
in our lives. One of them.
1:29
You can jot it down in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31.
1:32
The reward for waiting on God is maturity.
1:36
It's spiritual growth, it's spiritual strength.
1:40
And the Bible says those who wait on the Lord shall renew
1:43
their strength. They shall mount up with wings
1:46
like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
1:50
They shall walk and not faint. There's reward for waiting, but
1:54
waiting is not easy. We know that waiting can be
1:57
very, very hard because things aren't changing or things seem
2:01
to be getting harder or seem to be getting more difficult.
2:04
In Proverbs, again jotted down Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 12
2:08
says hope deferred makes the heart sick.
2:13
That's so true. But when the desire comes, it's
2:17
a tree of life. It's important, church, that we
2:20
learn how to wait on the Lord. And here I believe is an
2:25
encouragement for many of you. I believe it's a word from the
2:27
Lord like a Rhema word, and it's this.
2:30
There is a reason. God has a reason and a purpose
2:35
for this season of waiting in your life.
2:37
There is a reason behind the circumstances that you're
2:41
waiting on that the situation that you're watching and wanting
2:44
God to act in. And it's important that you not
2:48
listen. It's important that you not take
2:52
things into your own hands when you become impatient, when
2:55
you're tired of waiting. And it sometimes it just comes
2:58
out of our mouths. We wake up one morning, things
3:00
are harder than they we thought they would be.
3:02
Things aren't changing things and you just sometimes I so I
3:04
don't want to wait anymore. I'm tired of waiting and that
3:08
watch, watch those feelings, watch those words because that's
3:12
a dangerous sign. That's like a light on the
3:14
dashboard. Do not act on that.
3:17
Go get that checked because you do not want to take things into
3:21
your own hands. There is no reward for taking
3:24
things and there's only consequences and sometimes
3:28
they're long lasting. We want to learn to wait on the
3:30
Lord because God has His reasons and God has His purposes.
3:35
Why is that important today? Because in our text in Acts
3:37
chapter 22, Paul finally makes it to Jerusalem.
3:42
As we saw in our last study, this is something he's been
3:45
waiting on God for 20 years. For 20 years he's wanted an
3:50
audience in Jerusalem. For 20 years he's wanted to
3:53
preach the gospel to the Jewish people and to the leaders in
3:58
Jerusalem. And he finally gets there.
4:01
But it didn't end up the way that he thought.
4:05
I'm sure he expected that they would hear and they would listen
4:09
and so many people would get saved.
4:11
But that's not what happened. He finally makes it in.
4:15
The believers at the of the Jerusalem church didn't receive
4:18
him very well. I mean, they received him.
4:20
But the very first thing he said is, hey, look, people are
4:23
talking about you. There's a lot of rumors.
4:24
So this is what you need to do. You need to help these brothers
4:27
pay their vow. Make it seen so everybody can
4:30
see you're not against the law and you're not an enemy of Moses
4:32
and you're not an enemy of the temple.
4:35
And they didn't really welcome him in and say, hey, we want to
4:37
hear from you. But they set it up so and I
4:39
think in a good way, they set it up for the future.
4:41
But it wasn't what he expected. Instead of appreciation, they're
4:45
making him prove himself, and they're standing him into the
4:49
place where he did it for the sake of the gospel.
4:53
But it wasn't what he desired. In minding his own business, he
4:56
got the Jews coming back from Asia.
4:57
Now they're stirring up. And he has an opportunity here
5:00
in our text today to share what he's been waiting all these
5:07
years to share. Pick up with me in chapter 21.
5:10
Now in verse 40, we'll pick it up.
5:13
And by way of context. So when he had given him
5:16
permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his
5:21
hand to the people. And when there was a great
5:24
silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
5:26
Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.
5:31
And when they heard that he had spoke to them in the Hebrew
5:34
language, they kept all the more silent.
5:36
And then he said, I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia,
5:41
brought up in this city at the feet of Gamalio, taught
5:44
according to the strictness of our Father's law, and was
5:47
zealous toward God. As you are all today.
5:51
I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering
5:55
into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me
5:59
witness and all the counsel of the elders from whom I also
6:02
received letters to the brethren.
6:04
And I went to Damascus to bring in change, even those who were
6:08
there to Jerusalem to be punished.
6:12
So here is his defense. If you like to write in your
6:15
Bibles, and I hope you do, go back to verse one and circle the
6:17
word defense. It's the Greek word apologia.
6:22
It's from what we get our English word apologetics.
6:26
The word means to defend. It doesn't mean to say I'm sorry
6:29
and apologize for something. It is the word properly
6:32
translated here, defense. Paul is giving a defense to all
6:37
the accusations. And I find it interesting that
6:40
in his apologetic, in his defense, he doesn't deal with
6:43
the accusations. You know what?
6:45
He and neither does he give a long theological Bible study,
6:49
which he was capable of doing. Instead, in his defense, he does
6:54
one of the best things that he could have ever done, something
6:57
that you and I can. He did it so, so powerfully and
7:00
so wonderfully. It's something that you and I
7:03
can follow in his footsteps without much effort.
7:06
And in order to give his defense to the audience that was before
7:09
him, Paul is going to share his testimony.
7:14
And all of us have a testimony, every single one of us.
7:17
You could you're here today and go, I don't know much about the
7:19
Bible and I haven't been well educated and I haven't even read
7:22
the Bible yet. OK, you're going to get better
7:24
and better over the years. But every single believer
7:27
listening to me right now has a testimony.
7:30
And I want, if you haven't developed one or prepared one or
7:34
even want a concept, I want to help you with that right now.
7:36
So take out a pen if you're not already taking notes.
7:39
And I want you, I want you to see this because I want you to
7:42
develop your testimony and be ready to share it.
7:45
And so you could take out a white piece of paper, and I'm
7:48
going to do it right now. I'm writing it down here.
7:50
You can take out a white piece of paper and you can write three
7:53
boxes like this. This is my testimony right now.
7:57
I haven't written it down yet, but this piece of paper
8:00
represents my testimony in the first box here.
8:04
As we see, we just read a portion of it from Paul.
8:07
This first box here is who I was.
8:10
You can jot it down who I was, where I came from.
8:13
And here's one of the mistakes that so many people make with
8:16
their testimonies is that they think their testimony is all
8:21
about them. And so most people's testimonies
8:24
that they look like this. So let me get another piece of
8:27
paper here. I should have had this prepared.
8:28
I'm sorry, but this is what their testimony looks like.
8:31
It's more like this and they're it's all about them in the top
8:36
box. This is where I was.
8:37
And it's like, you know, sometimes I'll ask people to
8:39
share their testimony and they'll say, how far back do you
8:42
want me to go? Like to the womb?
8:43
I'm like, no bro, no, I don't go far that far back.
8:46
But just give me a few things. I just want to know and be
8:49
relatable to you. And that's what your testimony
8:51
is your testimony. Listen, your testimony is not
8:55
about you, even though you are a part of it.
8:59
A true Christian testimony is about you ready God and his work
9:05
in your life. But in order to share it, people
9:08
need to know who you are. And then you know where you came
9:09
from. Some of you grow in a Christian
9:11
home. Some of you have really, really
9:13
bad testimonies and that's what God saved you from.
9:15
I'm one of them. I have one that's like, man, I
9:17
wish I didn't have it. Truly, I wish I didn't have it.
9:20
What I do, and this is the the consequences of my life.
9:23
And that's what God saved me from #2 the, the second box.
9:27
The second box is where God met you.
9:30
How did God meet you? Some of you are invited to
9:33
church. Some of you met somebody, some
9:34
of you, but you know, we raised in a godly home.
9:37
But there's a point in time, as we'll see with Paul, we'll get
9:40
to it in a few moments where he was met.
9:42
And we've already read this because we were given Paul's
9:46
conversion in Acts Chapter 9. So this is all review, but it's
9:49
important for you to understand he's using his life story, God's
9:53
work in his life as a way to share the gospel.
9:57
And so that middle box is how did God meet you?
9:59
For me, I was in a tough spot. I was facing jail time and out
10:04
of the blue I receive a phone call from a friend who just got
10:07
saved, probably heard a message to say, OK, everybody find the
10:11
worst Sinner you can and call him and invite him to church.
10:14
My phone rang, I was invited to church.
10:17
We end up showing to a up to a church like this.
10:20
Heard the gospel transform life. That's how that's it.
10:23
That was my middle box enough there.
10:25
And then the third box, as we'll see through this study, the
10:29
third part of your testimony is what is God doing in your life
10:32
right now? What has he done?
10:35
What is the changed life? And this is where the miraculous
10:38
takes away. This is like like you will not
10:40
believe. Like for some of you, like
10:41
you've been sober for all these years.
10:43
And we say Amen to that. And for some of you, you forsook
10:46
all this sin and you're not a part of it anymore.
10:47
And we've and for some of you, you become pastors and teachers
10:51
and you're teaching Sunday school and you're you are
10:53
desiring God and you've read the Bible.
10:55
You know, on and on what God is doing in your life because that
10:58
last part of your testimony shows that your testimony is
11:02
alive. Did you know that your testimony
11:05
is not done, it's alive. God is in you and he's
11:08
continuing the work and this encourages people in a place
11:12
where they need to hear it. And so you need to prepare your
11:14
testimony, Polish it up and be ready to share it.
11:18
You need to be able to share your testimony in just a couple
11:20
minutes. Sometimes that's all the time
11:22
you have. But imagine the work of God.
11:24
Check this out. This is the powerful work of God
11:27
where there, you know, millions of people will never come into a
11:31
church building, never listen to Christian radio, skip over all
11:35
those Bible studies on YouTube. They're just not interested.
11:38
But you're in their life and they'll listen to you.
11:43
And the power of your testimony is this.
11:45
The power of your testimony is that people may argue with the
11:48
Bible as they love to do, but they can't really argue with
11:52
your testimony. I mean, they can't like they're
11:55
they're you're sharing it and they go, I don't believe that
11:57
that never happened. You're like, bro, you weren't
11:59
there. How do you know what happened?
12:01
I was there and I know this in my own life as I've shared over
12:05
the years, I know this, that whatever I share with you,
12:09
whatever situation, how I remember it, it was far worse
12:13
than how I remember it is. I begin to talk about the
12:16
people, talk to the people that were connected to my life at the
12:18
time. So it was hard for me, but the
12:21
pain I caused Marie, it was worse.
12:23
The pain I caused my parents, it was worse.
12:26
It, it was far worse than I remember.
12:28
God, he's so gracious to us, or he, he, you know, he doesn't
12:31
have us remember every single detail.
12:33
Praise God for that. But I'll tell you, you, you come
12:35
and go. You know that you weren't that
12:36
bad. You were probably just born.
12:38
A pastor came out with glasses from the womb.
12:39
You know, that wasn't that bad. No, man, it was worse than I
12:43
even remember. But God met me with a friend
12:46
that I used to party with and he changed my life.
12:49
He saved my family, he expanded my family.
12:53
He gave me the privilege to teach the Word of God and to
12:58
meet so many people, Serve your families, watch you grow.
13:01
The power of your testimony. It gives truth to the power of
13:05
God's word because your testimony is going to lead to
13:09
the Word of God because that's where the power is.
13:12
The power is not in your testimony.
13:14
The power is in the gospel. The gospel is the power to
13:17
transform a life. And so it's not just a story
13:20
about, hey, man, I want you to know all about my life.
13:22
All about my life. Yeah, know about my life.
13:24
Let's make a connection. And I've seen over the years,
13:26
and you've seen it too, that your testimony connects you with
13:29
specific people more than others.
13:31
So like for me, I got a lot of alcohol and partying and drugs
13:34
in my past. So that's relatable to people
13:36
because people are sitting there right now going, man, I'm so
13:38
messed up. I don't think I can ever get
13:39
sober. And then they hear some dude on
13:41
the radio or somebody shares something.
13:43
Oh, man, you got to hear my pastor.
13:44
You got to understand he got say he got sober.
13:46
And then that testimonies go, well, maybe, and there's just a
13:49
little thought there, if God could do that for him, maybe God
13:53
could do that for me. And that's your story.
13:56
You go through such pain and such heartache and such
13:58
difficulty, but God got you through it and now it's become a
14:01
part of his story in your life. And when you share it, other
14:04
people that are going through the same thing, they get hope
14:07
from your life, the hope of what God has done in your life.
14:10
That's where Paul is. And so there's a few things that
14:13
Paul say before we get on to the rest of the text, but you'll
14:15
notice he's very respectful in verse one, brethren and fathers,
14:20
he is speaking in the Hebrew language to connect.
14:23
He's building a bridge. Remember when you're sharing
14:25
with people, you're building a bridge to connect in their life
14:29
so that you're building a bridge.
14:31
Remember, not just to get to them, but to also in tactful
14:34
love, bring them back with you. It's relational.
14:38
He says in verse three that he's a Jew that's going to connect
14:41
them. He studied under the feet of
14:43
Gamaliel, which is a highly respected rabbi of the day, very
14:48
respected. He was taught, it says, the
14:51
strictness of the law, zealous toward God, just like you guys.
14:54
I'm just like you guys, he says. And then he says he takes it a
14:58
step further in verse four. I persecuted the way to the
15:01
death. We need to pause there for a
15:02
moment and look at this phrase of the way again because this is
15:06
what Christianity was known as in the 1st century, long before
15:10
church became an institution or traditions were added, or the
15:15
church is known as a building or some religious structure
15:19
structure. It was known as the way.
15:22
Which makes so much sense, doesn't it?
15:25
God is calling us back to simplicity and the simplicity is
15:29
just to see your walk with the Lord as following the way and
15:34
you go. What does that mean exactly?
15:35
Well, Jesus declared himself to be the way.
15:38
Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life.
15:43
I'm the only way to the Father. Nobody gets to the Father except
15:46
through me. You know, over the last many
15:50
years, I found that my counsel and my biblical discipleship in
15:54
people's lives is getting smaller and smaller.
15:57
And one of the things that God has added as I share with people
16:01
in great, difficult and complicated things, it's just to
16:05
follow the way. That's my counsel.
16:07
Follow the way, and you go ahead.
16:09
What do you mean by that? Well, even on my own life
16:11
recently, actually, this happened to me where it's just a
16:14
difficulty I've been wrestling with personally, just something
16:17
heavy on my heart like I've just been.
16:19
And so I just stopped all of my DeVos.
16:21
I stopped everything on my normal Bible reading.
16:24
And I just went to a section of the Scriptures where Jesus was
16:27
teaching on this topic. And in my holy imagination, I
16:31
pictured myself following him, listening to him and obeying
16:36
him. And I just spent a few days,
16:39
actually it was about four or five days, every day in the
16:41
morning I'd read it. In the afternoon I'd read it, I
16:43
memorized some of it. I'd highlight it, I'd circle it.
16:46
And I just follow Jesus. This is your answer to my
16:49
problem. It's got this thing and this
16:51
thing, and what about this and what about this?
16:53
And I don't know about this and it, it's very complicated and it
16:56
has been for many years in my life.
16:57
But this teaching of Jesus is very simple.
17:01
And in everything, what Jesus was teaching me, even in that
17:04
was Ed, just follow me. Follow me.
17:09
I'm going to take care of your life.
17:11
Haven't I been faithful to you in the previous years?
17:13
Yes, Lord. Haven't I taken care of problems
17:16
in your life? Yes, Lord.
17:18
Haven't I helped you and encouraged you?
17:20
Yes, Lord. And it just takes like the
17:22
promise of God. And that's my counsel to you.
17:25
You come in here, you watch online, you're listening on the
17:27
radio with such complications. Heavy stuff, man.
17:31
And I'm not minimizing in any way the heavy stuff because
17:34
sometimes the answer to your problems is so simple.
17:38
It really is simple. However, we interpret simple
17:42
sometimes as simplistic and we just dismiss it.
17:45
Oh no, you need professional this, and Oh no, you need 20
17:48
sessions. Oh no.
17:49
And maybe you do. I don't know.
17:51
I can't speak to every situation with all.
17:53
I don't know exactly the totality of what God tools God
17:57
is going to use to help you. But I do know this.
18:00
No help will come unless you're following the way.
18:05
You won't experience any help, any peace, any joy, if you
18:09
haven't chosen to follow Jesus, if you haven't chosen to obey
18:13
him and to listen to him. And how could you ever listen to
18:16
Jesus if you're not reading his words, if you're not seeking out
18:21
his counsel, if you're not coming to him with a heart open
18:25
and a mind open and a Bible open saying, God, you understand my
18:30
frame, you know who I am, you know the circumstances of my
18:34
life. You see all these things and I
18:37
you see things I can't see and you know things I don't know.
18:41
And you have answers and resources and solutions that I
18:44
don't have. Lord, I want to follow the way I
18:49
want to follow you. And so this has been very
18:51
special to me lately. And it's counsel to some of you.
18:55
You need to follow the Lord, read your Bible and pray every
18:59
day. Get involved in Christian
19:01
community Acts chapter 2 verse 20, verse 42.
19:05
They continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and prayer and
19:09
fellowship in the breaking of bread and allow the Lord to work
19:12
these things out as you wait on him and follow him.
19:16
Notice what he says in verse 4 reveals some really nastiness
19:20
about Paul. He says I persecuted the way to
19:23
death and I bound and delivered them into prisons.
19:26
Check this out. This is how bad he was, both men
19:29
and women. This is a low state of living
19:32
friends. When a man abuses a woman,
19:35
that's where he's at. He is in in the name of
19:38
religion. He says I'm going to kill people
19:41
because of what they believe. I want to destroy Christianity,
19:45
and I don't care if they're men or women.
19:47
It doesn't matter to me. I see no distinction.
19:51
Paul was very, very low. And the strange thing and the
19:55
scary thing is he didn't know how low he was until he got
19:57
saved. God had to reveal to him how bad
20:00
it was, but he's telling us how bad it was.
20:04
But he's not giving us all the details just enough.
20:08
Even as I share my testimony from time to time or little
20:11
pieces. I, I know the same thing.
20:13
I share something with you. It takes 45 seconds to say it,
20:17
but 45 seconds actually spans 20 years.
20:20
And we do not have 20 years to discuss how bad I was.
20:24
And so I just give the summary of it.
20:27
But in my heart and my mind, it takes me back and I remember,
20:32
and I know it was much worse. But you don't need all those
20:35
dirty details. You know and you need to know,
20:37
and neither do those in your life.
20:39
What they need to know is what God has done.
20:42
And so he doesn't give all The Dirty details, but he gives
20:44
enough. Even he says, if you don't
20:46
believe me, ask the high priest. They gave me permission to do
20:49
it. And so at that point, notice now
20:52
verse 6, we get to the second part of his testimony in ours.
20:56
Now it happened, Now it happened as I journeyed and came near
21:01
Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone
21:05
around me and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying
21:09
to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
21:12
So I answered, who are you, Lord?
21:15
And he said, I'm Jesus of Nazareth whom you're
21:17
persecuting. And those who were with me
21:20
indeed saw the light and were afraid, but did not hear the
21:22
voice of him who spoke to me. So I said, What shall I do,
21:26
Lord? And the Lord said, Arise and go
21:28
into Damascus, and there you'll be told the things, all things
21:32
which are appointed for you to do.
21:34
And since I could not see, for the glory of that light, being
21:36
led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into
21:41
Damascus. So he shares with them this
21:43
supernatural event that takes place.
21:45
We've studied it in depth in Chapter 9, But as he was on on
21:51
the road to Damascus, breathing threats and murder, ready to
21:54
kill men, women and children, throw them into jail, persecute
21:58
the way God met him. He was a marked man from the
22:03
beginning. You know some of the people
22:04
you're praying for right now, your family, your friends,
22:06
they're marked men and women. God loves them.
22:10
He's pursuing them and we're not going to stop praying for them.
22:14
As he's sharing this, he's like, hey, look, God spoke to me.
22:18
That's part of my God spoke to me.
22:21
And I love how Jesus responds to him in verse 7, Why are you
22:25
persecuting me? And then he says in verse 8, I'm
22:29
Jesus of Nazareth. You think you're going to
22:31
Damascus, but you're actually persecuting me.
22:34
It's encouraging because Jesus views his church as he sees
22:38
himself in it. As He's looking upon us right
22:41
now, He sees He's in the midst of us.
22:44
He identifies with us. You know, to me it's an
22:49
encouragement to know that Jesus so personally identifies with us
22:52
that when a hand is raised against any believer, it's
22:56
actually against Him. And He protects us and takes
23:00
responsibility for us as the Good Shepherd always does over
23:06
His flock. As Jesus speaks to him, notice
23:10
the direction he gives in verse 9.
23:13
What am I supposed to do, God? What am I supposed to do now
23:16
that he's born again? The direction is, I still want
23:18
you to go to Damascus. And it's important that we
23:22
realize when many times as God is desiring to do a great work
23:26
through a man or a woman, He does it by giving us one step to
23:31
take in faith. Now, this may not seem like a
23:33
step of faith for Paul, but I want to draw out for you just
23:37
how much faith it's going to take to go to Damascus, because
23:40
everybody already knows he's coming.
23:42
They're warning him. It'd be like here if we knew
23:44
Paul was coming. Go, hey, watch out, protect,
23:46
board up the wind. We got to make sure we protect
23:48
everybody from Paul. But Paul's a changed man.
23:51
And so the word from God, from Jesus here is you're still going
23:54
to Damascus. And Can you imagine the response
23:57
in your own? I don't want to go to Damascus.
23:58
They'll kill me. They're already out for me.
24:01
They won't believe me. They won't believe I'm a changed
24:03
man. They'll think I'm lying so I can
24:05
get in and take advantage of them.
24:07
But of course, that's not what we have, because Paul knows
24:10
something that you and I need to know, and you might want to jot
24:13
this down. The best obedience, listen, the
24:17
best obedience is immediate obedience.
24:22
Otherwise you'll talk yourself out of it.
24:25
The best obedience is immediate obedience.
24:30
You want to be faithful to what God has told you.
24:32
He's given you one thing. Do the one thing, seek first the
24:36
Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
24:39
things will be added unto you. The problem is, it's hard for us
24:43
to live this way. What is this way by faith?
24:48
It's challenging to live by faith because living by faith
24:52
means you don't know what the future holds.
24:54
Living by faith means you don't know where the money's coming
24:57
from. Living by faith means you don't
24:59
know what that phone call will be or what that situation will
25:03
end up being. We find it hard to live by
25:05
faith. We want to live by sight.
25:09
We want to see what's up ahead. We want to live by information.
25:13
Oh sure, I'll take step. A God, if you tell me what Z is
25:17
going to be, what's going to happen?
25:19
How's it going to turn out? But know this, if we knew how it
25:23
was going to work out, it wouldn't be from faith.
25:27
And if we knew how God would supply all of our needs, it
25:30
wouldn't be by faith. And if we knew exactly the end
25:34
from the beginning, it wouldn't be by faith.
25:37
And we learned is our study through Hebrews that without
25:40
faith it's impossible to please God.
25:43
So God keeps us in a place of depending upon him.
25:47
Sometimes we refer to that as waiting.
25:50
Go to Damascus and you'll find out when you get there, but you
25:55
will not find out before you go to Damascus.
25:59
That's the truth in all of our lives.
26:00
Do what I've told you to do, God says, then you'll find out.
26:05
You won't find out beforehand. Well, what won't Paul find out?
26:09
Well, one of the things Paul won't find out unless he goes to
26:12
Damascus is that God has already gone before him.
26:15
Notice with me in verse 12. Then a certain Ananias, a devout
26:20
man, according to the law, having a good testimony with all
26:23
the Jews who dwelt there, came to me.
26:25
And he stood and said to me, Brother Saul, receive your
26:28
sight. And at the the same hour I
26:29
looked up at him, and he said, The God of our fathers has
26:33
chosen you, that you should know his will, and see the just one,
26:37
and hear the voice of his mouth. Verse 15.
26:39
For you will be his witness to all men.
26:43
Mark that you will be his witness to all men of what you
26:47
have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting?
26:49
Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the
26:53
name of the Lord. And now it happened when I
26:55
returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I
26:59
was in a trance and saw him saying to me, make haste, get
27:02
out of Jerusalem quickly, for they won't receive your
27:05
testimony concerning me. So I said, Lord, they know that
27:09
in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on
27:13
you. And when the blood of your
27:14
martyr Stephen was shed, I was standing, consenting to his
27:16
death and guarding the close of those who were killing him.
27:20
Then he said to me, depart, for I will send you far from here to
27:24
the Gentiles. Here's what Paul didn't know
27:27
until he gets to Damascus, and that is, God went before him.
27:31
God provided a man there. Ananias was waiting for him in
27:34
Damascus. He had his own issues.
27:37
God was telling him, hey, I want you to go to Saul.
27:39
I don't want to go to Saul. He wants to kill us.
27:42
But God had prepared Ananias. There is always something
27:47
prepared for you on the other side of obedience.
27:51
Isn't that great? There's always something
27:55
prepared for us. God is always preparing us today
27:58
for what He has prepared for us. He always goes before us.
28:03
You're not going into the great unknown as much as it feels that
28:06
way. You are going into the Great One
28:09
that knows because you're waiting on the Lord.
28:12
You're obeying the Lord. You're following the Lord and
28:16
not depending upon the circumstances.
28:20
Paul shares. His life is a mess.
28:21
He's got so many things, but God met him and he went to Damascus
28:26
and God had someone waiting for him.
28:28
He had a whole situation set up for him.
28:30
And notice I love this in verse 14, he had words of
28:33
encouragement. His calling was waiting for him
28:36
in Damascus. He says that God has chosen you,
28:40
and that's true for us too. John chapter 15.
28:43
He says that God has chosen that you would know His will.
28:45
That's true for us too. Romans chapter 12, God tells him
28:49
you're going to see the just one.
28:50
That's true for us, Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9, and that
28:53
you'll hear the voice of the Lord.
28:56
That's true for us too. John chapter 5, verse 25, and
29:00
you'll be his witness. This was all given to Paul in
29:03
Damascus. God moves quickly, friends.
29:06
When he moves, he moves quickly and thoroughly.
29:09
And a man that was going to go kill the believers in Damascus
29:13
was given his calling there and his marching orders.
29:17
You know, I think of how many of you stepped into this building
29:20
after years of driving by or seeing or hearing about it, and
29:24
you didn't know that God had something for you here is
29:26
waiting for you. When you got here, He had a word
29:29
for you. He had a teaching for you.
29:30
He had people here waiting for you.
29:32
Maybe you met somebody that you haven't seen in years here in
29:35
this church. Why?
29:35
Because God has gone before you, leading you in the places that
29:39
He wants you, that He knows are going to be best for you.
29:42
He knows you're going to grow there and you just needed to
29:44
step out and do it. You can trust God with your life
29:48
as you walk by faith and not by sight.
29:52
Of course, as we're walking, we need to follow the Lord and we
29:55
need to trust Him with our lives.
29:58
But you have to know that God has a word for you every time
30:02
you gather because He's gone before you.
30:04
He has a word for you every time you open your Bible because He's
30:07
gone before you. He has an answer to your prayer
30:10
every time before you pray it because He's gone before you.
30:14
Just take that to heart today. God goes before us and we can
30:18
follow Him. Not only that, I want you to
30:20
notice at the end of verse 21 that he was given direction from
30:26
Jerusalem many years later to go to the Gentiles.
30:29
So a lot of times we see and we don't even mention.
30:32
I might even as a pastor have mentioned this before where you
30:35
just kind of see the irony of God, that God used someone like
30:38
Paul to reach the Gentiles when it seems like he was perfectly
30:42
trained for the Jews. And then he uses someone like
30:45
Peter to reach the Jews when his whole upbringing seems like he's
30:49
perfectly trained to reach the Gentiles.
30:53
And so a lot of times pastors will look and say, well, you
30:55
know, Paul was the pastor to the Gentiles.
31:00
In a way, you could say that, but it's not entirely true.
31:04
So the next time you're playing Bible trivia and that question
31:08
might be who is the pastor to the Gentiles?
31:11
You can say, well, everybody, and that would be accurate.
31:14
And you need to fight for that answer when that like, yeah,
31:17
everybody. And you go, what do you mean
31:19
that? It says right here he was called
31:20
to the Gentiles. Listen, if you read verse 21
31:25
without reading verse 15, then you won't have the full context
31:31
of the calling of Paul. Yes, Paul was called to the
31:35
Gentiles, but not exclusively. Why?
31:39
Because we read in verse 15. You will be His witness to say
31:43
with me to all men, and that's the call upon you and me.
31:48
You may have and God may use you in a particular area, but your
31:53
call is to all. Your call is to all.
31:57
It's not just the Gentiles, not just the Jews, It's not just to
32:00
Aurora, not just to Denver, It's to all.
32:03
Every tribe, every tongue, every nation.
32:07
This is important to grasp. It's been God's heart from the
32:09
beginning. All of this division that has
32:12
been created over the years based on nationality, based on
32:17
skin color, based on language, based on the things that that
32:21
differentiate, you know, we're just not called to them.
32:23
No, everybody is our neighbor when it comes to the gospel.
32:29
And so it's not just this unique thing.
32:31
Well, you know, I'm not really called to them.
32:33
No, you are called to them. It's the same calling that God
32:36
has given to us. In Acts chapter one, verse 8, we
32:39
see that lived out in our own ministry here where we have
32:42
great responsibility here in Aurora, but not exclusively, and
32:46
great responsibility in Denver and throughout Colorado, but not
32:50
exclusively, and great responsibility throughout the
32:52
United States, but not exclusively, and great
32:55
responsibility to nations around the world.
32:58
Well, that would encompass it. It's all, it's all.
33:02
Isn't that what we learn in Acts?
33:03
You shall be my witnesses. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to
33:08
the uttermost parts of the earth.
33:09
By the time we come to the 1st century, the religious leaders
33:12
of the day completely lost this, and they're going to flip out in
33:17
a moment, as you'll see, because of Paul's call to all, to the
33:21
Gentiles specifically. Notice verse 22 now and when
33:26
they listened to him until this word, which word you can just
33:29
circle it and write an arrow to Gentiles.
33:32
When they heard the word Gentiles, they raised their
33:35
voices and said away with such a fellow from the earth for he is
33:39
not fit to live. Now that's pretty extreme, don't
33:42
you think? He's just sharing his testimony
33:45
and their response is kill him. This is how far they were from
33:49
God and how far a religious person can be from the heart of
33:53
God. This is also an explanation of
33:56
why the world and the those that are unbelievers hate the church.
34:02
Why you experienced some of the things you experienced where you
34:05
step back and go, What are you so mad at me about?
34:07
I just was talking to you. I was just sharing with you and
34:11
I wasn't even saying anything except telling you what God has
34:13
done in my life. Why are you so angry?
34:16
And I'll tell you why people get so angry.
34:18
It's because of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in their
34:22
lives and they've got to take it out on someone and you're the
34:25
closest one. Jesus himself warned us that if
34:30
they hated him, they would hate us that follow him.
34:33
And here's an example in the 1st century, it's already happening.
34:37
He's not fit to live. Why?
34:39
Because he has the heart of God, because he loves the city,
34:42
because he loves Gentiles. He loves people.
34:45
Notice in verse 23, they cried out, tore their clothes, threw
34:50
dust in the air, made a big dramatic.
34:52
You know, some people just love the dramatics.
34:54
So they're being very dramatic about it.
34:56
And because of that, remember Paul is there on the Antonio
35:00
Fortress where the Roman leaders are there watching everything,
35:04
looking down as guards of the Temple Mount area.
35:07
They see a disruption and now notice what happens.
35:10
Verse 24 The commander, which would be the Roman military, the
35:14
commander ordered him to be, He brought into the barracks and
35:18
said that he should be examined or beaten under scourging.
35:22
This is exactly what happened to Jesus.
35:24
He was beaten by being scourged, so that you might know why they
35:27
shouted so much against him. Verse 25 As they bound him with
35:32
thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, Is it
35:35
lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?
35:40
Here he's using his citizenship to further the gospel.
35:43
One of the greatest ways you can use your citizenship in this
35:47
country to further the gospel is to participate by voting a
35:51
biblical conscience. You can do that participating in
35:56
the form of government that God has allowed us to be a part of,
35:59
to pray, to seek the Lord and move forward with a biblical
36:04
conscience and participating here.
36:06
He's using his citizenship to get out of a death sentence and
36:10
he's doing it in such a way for the gospel to give an
36:14
opportunity for him to continue to talk and not die and be
36:19
persecuted. So notice it says in verse 27.
36:22
Then the commander came and said to him, tell me are you a Roman?
36:26
And he said yes. And the commander answered with
36:28
a large sum, I have obtained this citizenship.
36:31
But Paul said I was born a citizen.
36:33
Then immediately those who are about to examine him with
36:36
withdrew for him. And the commander was also
36:38
afraid after he found out that he was a Roman and because he
36:42
had bound him. And why is that so important?
36:44
Because the Romans never scourged or beat citizens.
36:50
That was reserved for non citizens.
36:52
They never mistreated their own. It was against the law.
36:59
So the penalty for breaking this law would be for the person
37:03
doing it to receive the penalty. So of course they're upset and
37:07
afraid. It says in verse 29 because they
37:10
did a really bad thing and Paul's using it to his
37:13
advantage. So that verse 30 the next day,
37:16
because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by
37:19
the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the
37:22
chief priests and all their counsel to appear and brought
37:26
down Paul set before them. So now the audience just got
37:30
larger by Paul asserting his citizenship so much in this text
37:36
to see. But you can see now, and what's
37:39
revealed to us is the power of your testimony.
37:42
What we learned is that it's not always when you're waiting on
37:45
the Lord. It doesn't always end up the way
37:47
you thought it would. But like Paul, you can't quit on
37:51
God or be mad at Him. You need to be prepared to trust
37:53
Him with your life. Things aren't always going to
37:56
end up the way. That's why we don't wait on
37:57
circumstances. We wait on the Lord.
38:00
We trust Him with our lives. We make progress, we move
38:03
forward. And you see what Paul got even
38:05
worse. They flipped out, They got
38:07
upset. They're going to beat Him and
38:09
scourge Him. You know the reason that a
38:11
person was scourged. Remember, there's only two, two
38:13
things that would come out of scourging #1 someone would
38:16
confess something. Even if they weren't guilty,
38:18
they'd confess it. So they'd stop the beating.
38:20
Or two, they would die. That's why it's so significant
38:24
that Jesus took the full weight of scourging.
38:27
He went all the way for you and for me.
38:32
He took the full weight of our sin upon Himself, and by His
38:36
death, burial and resurrection, your sins can be forgiven today.
38:41
So that your testimony, you're in the beginning of your
38:44
testimony right now, but God wants to meet you.
38:47
He wants to transform your life so you can begin to live out the
38:51
last part of your testimony. All that He wants to do, all
38:55
that He wants to bring about, all that He wants to change.
38:57
I had a conversation after service yesterday as we close
39:01
with a young man, 18 years old. He's listening to the same Bible
39:04
study you're listening to, and he comes up with a really valid
39:06
question. He goes, you know, I hear what
39:07
you say. And I responded to the gospel
39:09
and I asked God to forgive me my sins, but I just don't see any
39:12
change. I don't think I did it right.
39:15
I'm not sure if I did it right. I'm not sure.
39:17
And it began a conversation as I was able then to use my
39:21
testimony to draw out from him, to draw out from him his
39:26
testimony, because he's just in a season where he's not seeing a
39:29
lot of change. But to those of you that aren't
39:31
seeing a lot of change, here's my counsel.
39:33
Be patient. Be patient.
39:37
The biggest change happened in your life where even now I'm
39:40
like, hey, before you were saved, I was asking him.
39:43
Before you were saved, were you asking questions about God?
39:45
No. Wow, that's a big deal.
39:48
Were you even reading your Bible?
39:50
No. Did you even care?
39:52
No. He began to share out of his own
39:54
mouth the redemptive work of God in his life.
39:59
And I gave him some homework and I gave him some things to do and
40:02
I gave him some things because God has his part.
40:04
But then you and I have. We have our part.
40:07
We abide in Christ and we follow Him, and we're in His word, and
40:10
we pray and we watch God. But listen, you can't live in
40:14
the first box who you were your entire life.
40:19
You need to come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you.
40:23
You need to repent of your sins. You need to receive.
40:28
The forgiveness that's yours by faith in Him.
40:31
Then you could begin to tell people what God has done and
40:34
what He's doing in your life and reveal His faithfulness.
40:37
Church, stay active, following the Lord, listening to His
40:42
voice. Stay obedient.
40:45
Remember, the best type of obedience is immediate
40:47
obedience. The best type of obedience is
40:51
doing what God, hearing from the Lord, obeying what He says,
40:55
staying faithful. Remain sensitive to Jesus.
40:58
Stop arguing with the will of God for your life.
41:03
Stop trying to find satisfaction outside of God's calling upon
41:07
your life. You're chosen.
41:09
You're chosen to know His will. You're chosen to see Him, to
41:13
hear him, and to witness for Him.
41:17
So walk forth in obedience. And this is where we're going to
41:20
leave off today, but we'll get into the rest of His testimony
41:23
in our study next time. Just allowing the Holy Spirit to
41:26
remind us of His faithfulness in our lives.
41:29
So I got a piece of homework for you ready.
41:31
If you haven't already. Put your testimony together.
41:34
And if you already have one, share it with somebody this
41:36
week, Just look for an open door.
41:38
Don't go to work tomorrow and gather everybody in the room and
41:41
stand up on the chair. Oh, I want to share what a
41:44
rotten Sinner I am and you are too.
41:46
And you're like, what is your problem, Ed?
41:48
You know, pastor told me to share my don't do that.
41:51
Don't make it all weird, but look for those opportunities
41:55
that God has obviously brought. This is so amazing.
41:58
I could go on, but I you are the answer to someone's prayer.
42:03
Be ready for it. Be ready to step into an
42:07
obedience the answer your story, your life, your background, what
42:12
God has done is going to be the answer to someone's prayer.
42:16
If you're ready and ready to hear from the Lord and obey the
42:21
Lord Amen. Lord, thank you for your word
42:24
today and just the significance of your faithfulness.
42:29
Lord, the the amazing work that you have done, we all our
42:36
testimonies are just amazing. I mean, I wish part of my
42:38
testimony wasn't there, but it's my life and I am grateful that
42:43
there are many among us that don't have as bad a testimony as
42:49
me or others. And and that's good.
42:52
It's good. It's a different testimony.
42:54
You kept people from sin. You didn't deliver them from
42:56
sin, You kept them from sin. Praise God one way or the other.
43:00
But you want to use our church in these last days, or this
43:02
little church right here, and we want to be used.
43:06
So God, we yield ourselves to you afresh and anew and pray for
43:10
open doors and the strength to obey in Jesus name, Amen.
43:16
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study,
43:19
delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
43:22
For prayer, call us at 87730 Grace that's 877-304-7223.
43:31
To listen to this message in its integrity or to join us for our
43:35
live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
43:40
or download our free Calvary Church app.
43:43
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.