Acts 9:10-31 he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food For some days When many days the church Introduction

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1 Dartmouth Bible Notes Notes from the Pulpit Ministry of Dartmouth Bible Church Series: Studies in Acts, Lesson 13 Scripture: Acts 9:10-31 Speaker: Rev. Neil C. Damgaard, Th.M., D.Min. Date: December 30 th, 2018 Saul s Early Days Acts 9:10-31 (ESV) Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, He is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Introduction Here it is the final Lord s Day of the year we are wondering, what will 2019 bring? Should I make some resolutions to make it a better year? I think that hearing people s stories really makes for a good beginning.

2 Sometimes hearing a person s story really makes it clear who they are and what kind of a person they are. But when do we get to do this? When do we take the time to really listen to someone and give to them all the time they need to really tell us their story? The second half of the Book of Acts is largely Paul s story. In chapter 9 he is still using his Jewish name: Saul. Basically in our section today we have three movements, as Luke recorded it: I. Healed, baptized, lunch II. Testifies in the synagogues III. Endangered, Validated, Sent Home for safety Rather than expounding through the many details here today, I want to summarize the section with 12 things we can see and learn FROM the passage: Twelve Things we can learn 1. Following Jesus can be hard He may blind you to get your attention The hardships we may face in walking with the Lord are not all just circumstantial things that we encounter we may find ourselves dealing directly with the Lord! Christians will say, I am not into religion; I m in a relationship with God. Well, if so then a relationship can mean some uncomfortableness! We are not told why Saul is temporarily blinded. But it is not hard to imagine that it took such a dramatic side-lining of him to get his attention. Sometimes His plan might sideline us for a while too, to grab our attention. Sometimes we too are stubborn and self-willed. Jesus will work on us to get our attention, too. Hear the writer to the Hebrew Christians (12:28,29): Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. 2. If He does blind you He might appoint someone to heal you But God is not unkind. And IF you find yourself sidelined for a season almost certainly God has provided a friend to help you through this. I know of no other religion that, in its holy writings, almost guarantees this. Even as the Lord Jesus was filing Saul down to a place where he was humbled, Jesus appointed and set up Ananias to be there for Saul. (9:10) 3. Sometimes there s lunch involved This may sound like a silly detail but I take it there is a reason why Luke tells us (vs. 19) that Saul took food and he was strengthened. He was 2

3 pulling out of the first of many extraordinary experiences. He was drained and could not eat or drink. He needed nourishment. With his sight restored be relaxed. And not to make too much of this, but it is not unusual that after a heavy spiritual experience, we can relax, take food and be strengthened. 4. God calls specific people I have never had a problem with God calling whomever He wishes, to do whatever He wishes. And we notice that God, in the Bible, does it whether we have a problem with it or not. Paul was not the only person called to take the Gospel to someone. The call of God upon the human heart is one of the great wonders and also one of the great mysteries of how He works. I can name quite a number of people that I can say with certainly that God has called them. It has born out as true over time. 5. Baptism was the first thing Saul did Again, Luke almost understates baptism as a thing that the early believers did. Saul gets off the palette, finds Ananias, apparently says something like, Hey Ananias, Man! I can see again. Baptize me, will you please? And Ananias does it. Luke records no other details it is just done. Baptism should be as routine and frequent as we can make it. It is the initial identification with Jesus of Nazareth. It does not confer salvation, or add to the regeneration of faith. How sad it is this has become such a confusion in some churches who make this identification into a human act which is necessary for regeneration. Saul has BEEN saved, healed and called of God. Now he wants to get his baptism done. It is the first thing he wants to do SINCE he has met Jesus, not in order TO meet Jesus. 6. God brings other people into our lives at important times Ananias isn t the only encourager that will help Saul get started. Vs. 25 tells us that friends took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. This is the stuff of a great story even though at the time it was very scary. People were out to kill Saul to shut him up. A great mind, in the person of Saul of the Sanhedrin, has come to actually believe the story he had been trying hard to stamp out. NOW he actually believed it! And God provided sympathetic friends, even though, initially, there was also a great skepticism about Saul. 3

4 7. Saul s first impulse was to defend and present Jesus as real Paul s focus was simple and unrelenting: JESUS IS REAL AND HE IS ALIVE. How do I know? I saw Him. He spoke to me. He mowed me down. I m here to tell ya! Verse 22: Luke says Saul became brilliant at proving that Jesus was the Christ (the Messiah). To you and me this seems obvious. To Saul and those listening to him, it was powerfully radical. You and I need to remember that Jesus, the person and work of the Son of God, is always, unchangingly, the message. 8. That got him into trouble Did you think that the obedient Christian life will not cause you difficulty? Preaching, teaching, proclaiming, arguing and doing apologetics got Paul into serious trouble. He was at risk for getting killed. 9. God providentially will deliver us until He calls us home When your time is done, it is done. Until then, it is not done and many times there may be that God gets you out of a jam. His delivering hand is gracious and a thing that David testified to with some frequency Consider Psalm 22; Psalm 34:4; Psalm 107:6; Acts 27:77; 28:5 and many other passages in the Bible which illustrate this. 10. Sometimes other Christians are going to think we are phony Vs. 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. Here is one of the things we should probably teach new Christians early in the discipleship process but that I think we do not; we re almost embarrassed to tell new Christians things like this. We fear they may change their mind about following Jesus if we are too up front and honest. But we should inform new believers that sometimes OTHER CHRISTIANS are going to evaluate us as phonies, and we should probably just realize that. 11. Sometimes we need another brother to tell them we are not phony Vs. 27 is one of the great encouragement-verses in the Bible: But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. Sometimes I feel like we are real good at putting each other in our place. We are quick to inform each other that Hey you know, you 4

5 just don t quite meet up to my expectations. But there are many times when what is needed is not a lecture, or a scolding, or yet another warning we need someone to share that they think we are genuine, and truly walking with the Lord. That is what Barnabas did. I wonder why? He had as much reason as anyone else to distrust Saul. What does he see in Saul that convinces him Saul is for real? I don t know but he stands up for Saul and stakes his reputation with Saul. 12. Sometimes we get sent to another place to rest, be safe or get ready Luke reports that when the Hellenists wanted to rub Saul out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus (vs. 30b). Tarsus was Saul s home and where he grew up. He knew its streets, its people, its coffee shops, its political environment. And since things got too hot in Judea the brothers put him on a boat in Caesarea and sent him home where he could pull himself together, learn and be safe. Luke then gives another cool summary (vs. 31) which is #18 of the 46 that I gave you a handout on a while back: So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Would you like a fresh vision statement for our church for 2019? Maintain peace within; Focus on building each other up; walk in the fear of the Lord, be comforted in the Spirit; Watch how we multiply. Let s close with a stanza of The Church s One Foundation, Elect from ev'ry nation, yet one o'er all the earth, her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth; one holy Name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with ev'ry grace endued. 5