Songs:
Welcome…
Good morning, it is wonderful to have you with us today. We trust as we come together around the Word of God that we will hear the Lord speaking to us individually… encouraging us, lifting us up and challenging us to follow Him.
Prayer…
Thank you Lord that you have brought us together in this way and as we meet we ask that you will, in a special way, speak into our hearts so that we may follow you in the path you would have us follow.
Reading…
Acts 22:7-10…
Saul, Saul why do you persecute me? Who are you LORD? I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting … What shall I do LORD … now GO into the Damascus and you will be told all that you have been assigned (calling) to do.
Acts 9:20
At once he began to preach in the Synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.
Introduction…
Today is the last in our series in Acts entitled “Devoted to“
We have dealt with being devoted to …
Christ Jesus our Lord
The Apostles doctrine
Death
Breaking of Bread
- Fellowship
Prayer
Perseverance
The question I ask is what difference, if any, has this series had on your thinking and life – Any change
We have considered…
The extreme difficulties faced by the church in those days…
Peter before the crowds and Sanhedrin…
Paul… and all the difficulties he faced…
Stephen… being stoned to death
The purpose in doing this series is to show that the devotion of the people in the church in those days had a massive impact on its exponential growth
And the question we have to answer is “How devoted am I to my Calling” as a Christian.
The danger of course is that we listen and conclude that…
They were special people and therefore what they did is interesting but it is not possible for little old me to accomplish the same…
And we write off the challenges given as interesting but irrelevant in my life and circumstances…
The truth is that Scripture does not allow us to come to that conclusion….
And today as we finalize this series we deal with being “Devoted to our Calling”
In doing so we deal with…
Our calling to Salvation
Our calling to Service.
Paul’s call to salvation…
Saul, from a very early age, was brought up in the traditional Jewish way … Acts 26:4
He had a thorough understanding of the law having studied under the greatest teacher of the day… Gamaliel… Acts 22:2-5
And was a qualified Pharisee
He was also… a very driven person … zealous for God … Ch 22 vs 3
So when the persecution of the Christian church began we find him participating with great vigour.
In his thinking he was protecting God’s work
He knew what the Apostles were teaching…
That is why he persecuted them and the church…
He considered Jesus an evil man worthy of death.
I believe that many times before his conversion God had spoken to him…
He was present at Stephen’s death
But each time he kicked against God’s promptings and he rejected Jesus’ salvation… Acts 9:4
But this time on the road to Damascus things were different …
As this blinding light from heaven shines down on Saul he realizes that this is from God… blinded he falls to the ground…
And he asks the two most important questions a human being can ask
Who are you LORD? And what shall I do?
Who are you Lord? …
The Greek word he uses is Kuros…
Supreme authority, master, sir… God
Within the question there is a heart of submission…
I am Jesus… of Nazareth… Acts 9:5 and 22:8
The one you are persecuting.
What shall I do LORD … or supreme authority… Acts 22:10
Can you see that in asking the second question he was acknowledging Jesus’ true authority and the error of his way…?
Numerous times Scripture points out that the crucial ingredient for salvation is the acknowledgement that Jesus is both Lord and Christ…
1 John 4:15… whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God … he belongs to God … 1 John 2:23 as well
Twice Peter makes that confession to Jesus … Matt 16:16 and John 6:69
Nathaniel, Martha, Thomas all did it… as did the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:37
It is no surprise then that in their preaching…
Peter says God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ… Acts 2:36
Paul, on his conversion, immediately presents Jesus as the Son of God to the people in the Synagogue… Acts 9:20
The point we must understand is that to be saved we must acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and Christ…
The other crucial point to note is that in acknowledging Jesus, Saul hands over the reins of his life to Jesus…
What must I do LORD?
Jesus says… Go and wait for my instructions…
And Saul obeys because he is Paul’s Lord
To acknowledge Jesus’ Lordship and not obey is a contradiction…
Jesus Lord (Kuros)… you are supreme authority, but I am not going to obey…
It does not make sense…
It means I am superior in authority.
When Jesus calls us to salvation he calls us to acknowledge his person and authority…
It is a call to obedience… nothing less.
Challenge…
So I ask you the question again…
What difference has the series had on your life…
How devoted are you to…
Believers…
Has the Lord spoken to you about your level of devotion to Him…?
Paul kicked against the promptings of Jesus…
But eventually the living word of God had its way…
The truth that he studied under Gamaliel and the prophesies fulfilled in the life of Jesus made sense and he could no longer refuse it…
And he acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus…
Has the LORD spoken to you recently… BUT…?
I don’t want to listen to Jesus… Josh Eikenar (NOT A LAUGHING MATTER IS IT?)
Unbeliever….
Is Jesus calling you to salvation today…. again?
Are you like Saul kicking against the goads
Also resisting the call
Paul’s call to service…
From the word go Paul understood that he was being called to serve.
What shall I do Lord
Go and wait for me… you will be told what you must do… Acts 9:6
To Ananias God reveals his purposes for Paul … “HIS CALLING”
He is my chosen instrument to carry my name to the Gentiles, kings and Jews… 9:15
I will show him how much he must suffer for my sake…
Paul is immediately seen preaching in the synagogue (FULFILLING CALLING)
And immediately there is a plot to murder him vs 23
As we travel through Acts we find Paul totally devoted to his calling.
Preaching throughout the Roman empire…
Planting churches and setting up elderships to carry on the work
Persecuted, beaten, stoned, escaping in baskets over city walls, in sinking ships…
A devoted servant… totally undeterred by circumstances.
So much so that at the end he could say of himself…
I have run the race, finished the course, kept the faith… 2 Tim 4:6 … I am being poured out like a drink offering
For me to live is Christ to die is gain… Phil 1:21
I count everything loss that I may gain Christ… Phil 3:8
It matters not which way you approach the matter, you to have to agree…
Paul was totally devoted to his calling to serve his Lord and master Jesus Christ
The Believers Calling…
So, here we are, at the focal point of this entire 7 week series.
Question…
How devoted am I to my calling?
Do I even have one.
Of course we can argue and say but Paul was different…
He was undoubtedly a special case… a chosen instrument… Ch 9:15
You can’t expect me to be like that
Or like Peter, Barnabus, or even Timothy
I am not asking you to do what they did…
That was their calling, not yours…
My question is… what are you doing about your calling
You see to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord… indeed my Lord
And not to be involved in your God given calling is a total contradiction… Questionable
If He is your Lord then you must obey His call…
So, what is your calling as a follower of the Lord Jesus…
Listen to what the Apostle Peter has to say…
You… are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices… 1 Peter 2:5
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light… 1 Peter 2:9
Your calling is, to a priesthood, to …
Declare Jesus to the world around you.
To serve daily in the priesthood
Every believer is called to this royal priesthood…
To tell them how Jesus…
Provides
Peace in difficulty
Guidance through storms of Life
But Lawrence it’s easy for you but I can’t do it…
I will accept it if you say “I won’t do it”
Because you have a God given free will…
But you may not say “I can’t do it”
That is a cheap copout…
Listen to Paul speaking to the believers at Ephesus…
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do… Eph 2:10
Gifts… to prepare God’s people for works of service… Eph 4:12
If you say I can’t… then you are saying God messed up…
The truth is God…
Calls us to service…
Provides us with spiritual gifts to serve…
Enables us by the power of His Holy Spirit to accomplish His purposes
And the last thing He needs is a super hero…
Where is the wise man. Where is the scholar. Brothers think of what you were when you were called. – ORDINARY
Not many of you were wise or influential or of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong… 1 Cor 1:20-31
The Lord does not need super heroes… He needs devoted servants.
Challenge…
So as we close of this series here is the challenge…
To the believer…
How devoted are you to…
The Lord Jesus, Apostles doctrine, breaking of bread, fellowship, prayer, perseverance…
Like the church fathers… unto death?
How are you going to respond to Jesus calling today
Kick against His prompting
Lord, master… what do you want me to do
To the unsaved…
How often have you refused His call to salvation thus far…
Today He calls you again…
May be for the very last time…
How are you going to respond…
Paul preached to at least three important people…
Felix the governor… who was afraid at the call of Jesus…
But responded “I will listen to you at some more convenient time”… Acts 24:25
That convenient time never came.
Festus succeeded Felix…
His purpose was to please the Jewish hierarchy…
And he considered Paul’s gospel insane… Acts 26:25
Rejected Jesus call outright
King Agrippa… Acts 26:28
In all his pride, wealth and position in society hears the call of Jesus…
His response is… do you really think I will respond to you in such a brief encounter…
He never had another chance
So what is your response today…
It may be the first or the last…
What will you do?
