Ananias: A Devout & Ready Man | Acts 9:10-19 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh | Maranatha Shabiba 2024

I have to admit that it is extremely difficult to dedicate

a series on the life of the apostle Paul and not have to

talk about his conversion. How do you talk about Paul and

not talk about his testimony? And that is not personal

opinion. I believe the weightiness of the

Bible leans toward the fact that his testimony is something to be

greatly considered. It's not a secondary or tertiary

idea. And the reason why we can say

that is because Paul's testimony in the book of Acts is not

mentioned just once, not just twice.

It is recorded for us three times.

Surely this emphasis given to us by the Holy Spirit is meant to

convey that his conversion is of weighty significance.

And one of the reasons for that significance is because he was

not one of the original 12 disciples who walk with Christ,

who ate with Christ, who was with Christ during his

three-year ministry. But he would play a vital role

in establishing the foundation of the Church and so the origins

of his encounter with Christ. And his experience of the

resurrected Christ had to be unmistakable, had to be

undeniably clear for the sake of his credibility as an apostle

who had laid down so many important truths that you and I

are experiencing and learning and are walking in today.

So his story is part of Scripture.

And because it is part of Scripture, it not only does it

hold historical value. But the same Paul who we're

learning about said that all Scripture has been what breathed

out by God because it's been breathed out by God, it is

absolutely useful for the man of God to be complete, complete and

ready for every good work. And guess what?

Paul's testimony is part of Scripture, and so we can look to

his testimony for practical truth.

For personal applicable things in our own walk with the Lord.

And so I want to encourage you, though we're not going to

explore every single detail about his testimony today.

What a thrilling thing it would be to take the mentions of his

testimony. Do a comparative study.

You'll find it narrated in Acts Chapter 9.

Acts 9 · chapter mention

You'll find it given by the Apostle Paul's own words in Acts

Acts 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22 and also in Acts chapter 26.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

But many of us in here have studied the Word of God, I

assume. I've grown up hearing about

Paul, surely. And so we're very familiar with

his Damascus Rd. experience when he was on his way, with

permission from authorities, to persecute the church.

We all can really recite that testimony, that part of it at

least. But I want to consider a part of

his testimony that is often overlooked.

An ingredient, a fragment of his story.

That is mentioned two times out of the three times that the

testimony of Paul is mentioned in the book of Acts.

It deals with a person, a person who played an integral part in

his genesis of the Christian journey.

That person is named Ananias Ananias.

Ananias was a man who played a very crucial role in Paul's

beginnings as a believer in Jesus Christ.

Many of us know again that Acts chapter nine story of Paul

meeting Jesus in a very humbling way, but I'm not sure many of us

realize how important and how many things you can learn from

Ananias who is part of his story.

So I encourage you to come to Acts Chapter 9 with me and let's

Acts 9 · chapter mention

go to verse 10. Verse one to nine is the report

of his personal experience of Christ, but that's not the whole

story. And I know we're here to talk

about Paul, but intertwine with Paul's story is this man

Ananias. So let's read here in verse 10,

we read 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 priest 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. There's no debate of the

incredible role that Paul played in the life of the church, and

understanding his importance would make us think that the

person who would be used by God to direct Paul as a baby in

Christ to nurture Paul, to instruct Paul would also be

somebody of great significance. So here's just me thinking, OK,

if there's going to be any person.

Who's going to go to Saul, who now will become Paul in a few

chapters? It has to be a big guy.

It's got to be a Peter, maybe John James.

What about Philip the Evangelist who in a chapter before saw a

revival in Samaria and who was transported supernaturally after

seeing that Ethiopian eunuch come to Christ?

Couldn't the Lord transferred him from Caesarea here to

Damascus and meet with Paul? But God doesn't do any of that.

God doesn't send an apostle. He doesn't send a teacher, a

pastor, an evangelist, a revivalist.

No, all we read here in verse 10.

Now there was a disciple, a disciple, a Damascus.

Nobody of prominent position, nobody of great talent, no

miracles necessarily associated with his name before this time,

just a disciple. Don't read your Bible too fast,

please, lest you miss marvelous insights about the heart of God.

Doesn't it warm your heart to know that the Lord, when he

recruits people to be used, does not bypass ordinary disciples?

He's not automatically magnetized towards those who are

known with notoriety, with significant public gifts.

No, He even looks for men like this Ananias, and the only thing

associated with his name in the scriptures that he was a

disciple. You know why that's encouraging?

We're all disciples. We're all disciples.

And as we study and admire the testimony, one of the greatest

leaders in the church, you and I are also in reading his

testimony, discover that God, that God uses lesser known

believers to do significant things.

And this is something to encourage you.

And when the Lord recruits people, he does not look for

what you and I look for if we're going to look for somebody of

great purpose. And I remember looking at this

and thinking about different people who've been used by God

that have really shifted history.

And we know them. We read their biographies.

We are inspired by their stories.

Books have been written about them.

But we never consider the people who played a role in their lives

that we'll never hear about on this side of eternity.

And I stumbled upon the testimony of a person that

you've heard of, I'm sure, John Bunyan.

You've probably read his book Pilgrim's Progress if you

haven't. It's one of the most read books

in all of human history, and it is certainly the most popular

Christian allegory of all time. A brilliant man.

They said of John Bunyan that if you cut him, he would bleed out

the Bible. He loved the Word.

He knew the word, and God used them to make an impact.

The Kingdom of God to this day. But what's so incredible John

Bunyan was not just his writings, but the events leading

up to his own conversion. And you can find this in great

detail. One of my favorite episodes in

John Bunyan's life is that when he was still a tinker.

Have you ever heard of the word? A tinker was somebody who, by

way of profession, would fix people's pots and pans.

And so they would travel from town to town with utensils, and

they would knock on people's doors and ask if they would have

any of their kitchenware fixed. And so John Bunny, before he was

an author, before he was a preacher, he was a tinker.

And one day he finds himself in a specific place and he

encounters in Bedford a group of women, three or four women, who

were sitting at the front door of one of their homes and they

were talking and he was nearby. Unfortunately for some, when

three or four women get together and talk, it's dangerous.

But that wasn't the case here because when John Bunyan walks

by, he, he heard these women who were poor, unnamed, discussing

the things of God. And this attracted Bunyan

because he never heard people talking about things like this,

things about God saving their souls, heaven.

The Bible, what they read. And John Bunyan, he wasn't a

person who grew up in the church and had some kind of knowledge

of these things. He was an atheist at heart, very

rough upbringing, but something that there was a fragrance in

the air that drew him to to just draw a little closer and lean

in. And we're told there that he

didn't really understand what they were talking about, but he

interpreted that they were speaking from a place of joy,

and he realized that they were speaking.

Of another world and that made an impact on this man John

Bunyan. That was just one link in the

chain that would eventually cause him to be bound to Christ.

4 poor unknown woman who were talking about the love of their

hearts, and a man in the neighborhood heard them, and

that would be used to push him closer to the foot of the cross.

God uses nobodies, but just because God uses nobodies, which

we rejoice in, it doesn't mean he uses anybody.

You can say that Ananias was a nobody, but he wasn't just

anybody. Because there are standards in

which God looks for when he recruits.

And thankfully, he doesn't look for talent looking, doesn't look

for prestige, it doesn't look for pedigree, but he does look

for something. And we're told not in Acts 9,

but again, in the parallel account of Paul's testimony,

something about Ananias as Paul talks about his own conversion.

That's worth looking at for you and I to see.

Look at this here in Acts chapter 22.

Acts 22 · chapter mention

Turn there with me, would you? And this is when Paul speaks

about his own testimony. And look what he says about

Ananias in verse 12. I want you to take note of two

things that will secure us as candidates for God's service.

The first thing which is not included in the two, but it's

automatic, is you need to be a disciple.

But there are two additional things, and they're found here

in Acts 22 and the other one back in Acts 9.

Look at verse 12, Paul speaking, and one Ananias, a devout man, a

devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews

who lived there. So what was it about?

Ananias #1 he was devout. What does it mean?

To be devout means to be pious. This man was holy.

This man was blameless. This man had true character and

he stands in contrast to another Ananias.

This is not the same Ananias of Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

Acts chapter five was Ananias and his wife Sapphire.

Remember those two? They came into church thinking

that they can lie. And Ananias and Sapphire, seeing

Barnabas give this charitable gift thought, wow, I mean, look

at all, look at all the people who are moved by Barnabas

generosity. Let's do something like that.

And so they, they faked it. They pretended to give

everything when they actually gave some.

And so Ananias walks in and he lies to ultimately God and he's

stricken dead. And his wife comes later on and

he's she's confronted by church leadership.

She lies as well. And that church service became a

funeral service. But this is a different Ananias.

Listen, he doesn't have a position.

He didn't possess anything significant, but he did have a

praiseworthy reputation. So much so Listen, he wasn't

just well spoken of by the Christians.

What did Paul say? Well spoken of by all the Jews,

the Jews. The Jews were enemies of the

early Christian movement. And yet we're told here that

they were well spoken. They, they were speaking well of

this man because he was no hypocrite.

He was consistent no matter what context he was found in, whether

people love them or hated. And they they could not deny

that he was a devout man. He was committed to the thing

that he said that he believed in.

And the example of Ananias here teaches that none of us should

expect to be recruited by the Lord if we are not first

committed to maintaining and pursuing Christian character.

Christian character, but the extent of his faithfulness

doesn't just end here. Go back to Acts Chapter 9,

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Right? He's a devout man, but when you

look at the main text, you see the extent of his faithfulness

in Acts 9. Look at verse 13.

This is when the Lord said, I want you to go to Saul.

And this is his response in Acts 913.

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 priest to bind all who

call on your name. Look at the first few words of

verse 14. And here he has authority from

the chief priest to bind here. Well, Damascus.

So Ananias realized it. It was on headline news in the

church that there is this saw of Tarsus coming to Damascus to

eradicate Christianity in this region.

He is coming to harass the church.

So Ananias was aware that he was on dangerous territory and yet

he didn't move. Isn't that what we get from

this? And here he has authority, but

that didn't diminish his dedication.

His devotion was not deterred. It was not diluted.

And so you have this disciple. Yes, but all men.

Did he love Christ? He was willing to be arrested

for Christ. He was willing to die for

Christ, surely. So he was devout according to

the law, yes, but this law was so real to me.

It was so good to him, it was so cherished by him that when there

was persecution against it, he was willing to dig his heels and

Damascus and stay put. A disciple, Simply put, a

disciple who is devout, who loved the Lord, who loved God's

law, who loved Christ to this extent.

And so listen, that's what you have to be encouraged by,

because you, you can achieve this.

You can walk in this. Businessman mother who stays at

home with her children. You can be devout.

And as you walk in that devotion to the Lord, you make yourself a

greater candidate for his service.

But it's not just that there's a second thing.

He was devout, but he was also ready.

So look here at verse 10 again of our main text.

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, here I am Lord. What a response for your name

being called. Here I am Lord.

Now you would think, well that would be the obvious response if

you're visited by Christ and a vision, right?

What else are you going to say? But I don't believe that this is

just a spontaneous submission. I believe that Ananias had this

yielding this in his heart instilled in him.

How do we know that? Because we just learned that he

was a devout man according to the law.

And so he was already committed to the written word of God.

So that when God came in a supernatural way, he came to a

man who already was willing to do all that the Lord said.

And you have many people who want experiences with the Lord.

They want subjective kind of ecstasies and and testimonies.

But here's a question for you. How responsive are you to what

God had already told you in His Word?

How does your heart move according to what He has said

already in the scriptures? Because you and I have no reason

to expect anything more if what we've been given is not honored

and loved to begin with. So Ananias was devout according

to the law. God saw a man that when the word

was heralded, when it was read, when it was studied, his heart

was ready to do anything that the Lord said.

And so this man would receive further instruction because he

was a ready man. Some of the greatest servants in

the Scriptures have been people who responded like Ananias did

when they were visited by the Lord.

Abraham, here I am, Genesis 22 Isaiah says, Whom shall we send?

What did Isaiah say? Here I am, Lord, what?

Send me. You know what I love?

About that, he didn't even know what the job description was

yet. Whom shall we send?

I'll do it. I don't know what it is, but I'm

ready. OK, good.

I want you to preach. And nobody's going to ever

listen to your sermons. How long, Lord?

He asked later on when he did it.

Here I am, Lord. He was a devout man.

And he was a ready man. He he maintained a posture of

servanthood. Whatever the Lord say, I'm going

to do it. Now I've mentioned this so many

times, but we are creatures of repetition, so I like some of

the apostles in their letters and not ashamed to repeat

certain things. David was a man after God's own

heart. Is that not true?

Do you even know what that means though?

What does it mean for David to be a man after God's own heart?

The Lord qualifies that the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what it

means, and I want you to see it quickly before we come back to

this text in Acts 13. Look at Acts 13 and notice here

what the Bible says about David being a man after God's own

heart in verse 22. And when he had removed him, he

raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and

said, I have found in David the son of Jesse, a man after my

heart. If it's if it ended there, it

could mean a million things what it means to be a man after God's

heart. But we're told exactly what it

means. Who will do all my will.

So if you want to know if you're a woman, if you're a man who has

a heart after God's heart. That will be recognized by how

you respond to the revealed will of God.

Whatever you discover, whatever is learned, whatever is new,

whatever is something that you've forgotten about, is now

an object of remembrance. Are you willing to do it?

Ananias was a man who was willing to do what the Lord told

him. So he was devout and he was

ready. But let's come back and realize

that the Lord understood that this man, though he was devout,

though he was ready, was a man. Still look at verse 11 of Acts

9. He almost preemptively wants to

reassure Ananias from this dangerous task that it's going

to be OK because he understands the reluctancy of any Christian

Christian concerning Saul and encountering him.

And the Lord said them rise and go to the street called straight

and at the House of Judas pause there.

Isn't that amazing? The Lord knows your address and

he knows the members of that household.

But notice what the Lord tells Ananias to comfort him.

He says in the House of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus name

Saul, for behold he is praying. You know, the word behold is

pause whatever you're doing and look at this for a second.

Behold, he is praying as though Paul praying was a spectacle.

And he wants to blanket this man's soul and he wants to

console him out of all the things he could have said.

He says, don't worry, Ananias, Paul is praying.

Do you know why that's important?

Because it tells us one of the one of the marks of true

conversion. According to Jesus, one of the

indications that a person has truly changed is that they pray.

But wait, wasn't Paul a Pharisee?

He was a Pharisee, didn't Pharisee.

So he was probably more inspirational among the

Pharisees in his prayer life than anybody.

But you remember what Jesus said generally about the prayers of

the Pharisees. Vain, self seeking,

hypocritical. But now that Paul met Christ and

his heart was changed, it's as though the Lord is saying, ah,

now he's really praying. Now he's really praying.

Charles. Spurgeon said that prayer is the

Holy Ghost autograph on the heart of a regenerated soul.

And what I love about Acts Chapter 9 is you see the change

Acts 9 · chapter mention

in what Paul does with his breath, saying, what do you

mean? Look at here verse one of Acts

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Chapter 9. But Saul still breathing threats

and murder against the disciples of the Lord.

That's how we find palm Acts before he comes to Christ.

And then you read here in verse 10 and 11 that he's no longer

breathing threats. He's breathing sighs of

adoration and love and petitions to the Lord.

When you meet Christ, one of the things that will happen in your

life is that you will know a longing and a practice of

communing with the Lord. He is born.

One of the things that I'm sure doctors look for, I'm no doctor,

but I know this to be true, is one of the vital signs of a

healthy baby is what it cries. The baby cries.

That the lungs are. Working right, it's no different

in the new birth. If a person is born again and

there's no cry, there's something not right, something's

wrong. And so a born again person will

supernaturally have this instinct to lift up their voice

and seek the Lord. Will the flesh challenge that?

Yeah. Will there be days where you

don't want to seek the Lord? I'm aware of that.

But you can at some point in the beginnings of your walk,

recognize this shift that you now want to know the Lord and

you know him in this thing called prayer Ananias.

You can go and see Paul, who is at this time known as Saul, and

not have to worry about a thing. He's a change man Why?

Because he's seeking me. He's inquiring of me, he's

communing with me. And I love this about the Lord

because before Paul preached the sermon, before Paul established

the church, before he made any disciples, he prayed.

And so soon after his conversion, the God of heaven

and earth heard him. He didn't wait for Paul to

perform anything or to to build his resume and his rapport.

No, the moment he was changed, while he still had scales on his

eyes, he was seeking the Lord. I hear that man and he knows the

exact GPS location of where those prayers are coming from.

This thought moved me years ago when I was flying and I looked

out the window and I saw the city of Chicago as I was taking

off to another state. And I began to see all these

different homes and all these cars.

And I thought to myself, how many people are here?

Like, what does the Lord see from the heavens?

And yet when a man prays, he knows the exact house, the exact

St., the exact room he's in. Behold, he's praying, he's

praying, he's he's actually praying and a nice you can go

now. And so he's ready to go and meet

this man because the pulse of a regenerating work of the Holy

Spirit is identified by real praying being offered and not

public prayer. May I add, this was Paul

praying, praying privately alone, and that's what we're

supposed to learn from his conversion with all true

conversions. You will no desire to actually

lean in and seek the Lord. So what happens?

Look at verse 13 now, but Ananias answered, Lord, I've

heard from many about this man about how much evil he has done

to your Saints at Jerusalem. It says though, the moment he

heard Saul of Tarsus, he didn't, he didn't even hear the behold,

he's praying part Saul of Tarsus gulp.

That's all he heard. It was ringing in his ear.

The Lord said, Behold, he is praying Saul of Tarsus.

That's all I heard, Lord, and here's what here's what

encourages me about this man. Was he devout?

Sure. Was he ready?

Absolutely. But he was human.

He had real fears. And we have to be merciful to

imagine the Lord visiting you and saying, I want you to go

travel to this place and one of the ISIS leaders is there ready

for you to lay hands on him and give him instruction.

So let's be kind to Ananias way of principle here.

You have a man who has genuine hesitations and he's able to

verbalize that. And the Lord is so compassionate

to hear him out. So even in our weakness and

obedience communicate your weakness, your your your reasons

why the Lord is so much more tender than you can imagine.

So he says, Lord, I've heard many from many about this man,

how much evil he has done to your Saints at Jerusalem.

And as we read earlier, he's here and he has authority to

kill us in a sense that I hear Saul of Tarsus and.

I must mention something here. This is just me because I can't

ignore certain things that are brilliant in terms of Nuggets of

revelation. Look what he says here about the

Christians in his region. Lord, I have heard from many

about this man, how much evil he has done to your Saints at

Jerusalem. This is the first time in the

book of Acts the word Saints is used to identify Christians.

Do you know what the word Saints means in the original?

It's the word hagios. And it means most holy thing,

most holy thing. And I want to bring this up just

just kind of as a just, we're stepping over here a little

rabbit trail and we'll come back.

There are some, actually many in the world who believe that

sainthood is only achieved by certain out of the ordinary,

remarkable Christians. But what you read here is that

Saints, that word is applied to all believers.

All Christians are Saints, not just a select few that you

Revere and dare I say, do more than Revere.

All of them are Saints. And then even in this we have

the qualifications for saintliness.

What is it? Look here and here.

He has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on

your name. So who's a St.

According to the Holy Spirit, any person who calls on the name

of the Lord to be their righteousness.

So we are Saints by faith. We are made the most holy by

faith. What an amazing thing.

Yes, you, you are a St. according to the Scriptures.

And so he says here, Lord, Are you sure?

This man is here to destroy us. This man is here to harm us.

And in this very same passage we learn in Paul's conversion,

something about our conversion, that we are also Saints because

of faith. And the Lord says, I'm sure.

And he says in verse 15, go, for he is a chosen instrument of

mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the

children of Israel. Look at that phrase there for a

moment. But the Lord said to him, Go,

for he is a chosen instrument of mine.

The idea of God sovereignly choosing makes some people very

nervous, and it makes other people very happy.

There is no doubt here that the Lord said, I have prepared for

this man a certain task, that he will walk in, that he will

perform, that he will honor. And as much as God has appointed

a will, not just for Paul but for each of us, you have to also

understand that that sovereignty does not nullify personal

responsibility. So look at this phrase again.

He is a chosen instrument of mine, right?

OK. But again, there's two other

places where Paul's testimony is mentioned.

And I want you to look at Acts 26 and notice what Paul says

about his response to this revelation that he has been

given a task as an apostle. Look at Acts 26 and look at

verse 19. Actually, let's read beyond

that. Let's go beyond 19 and let's

just get the context here. Acts 26.

Look here at verse 16. This is the Lord speaking, but

rise and stand upon your feet, for I've prepared.

To you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and

witness for the things in which you have seen me and to those in

which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people,

from the Gentiles to whom I'm sending you to open their eyes

that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of

Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and

a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

Verse 19. Check this out.

Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly

vision. The God chosen for a work.

Yes, the God prepare for him a ministry absolutely.

The Paul have a choice, you better believe it.

He did have a choice and he says here I was not disobedient to

that vision. Does God have a call for your

life? Yes, according to Ephesians 210,

he has prepared for each of us a work that we should walk in

them. It's prepared, but you got to

walk in it. You got to walk in it.

And so Paul here says, I chose to walk in it.

Was he knocked down by that vision?

Did he have an amazing, credible, supernatural

experience of Christ? Yes.

With all of that said and done, he still was at a threshold and

he had to make a decision. Will I obey this or will I turn

my back on this? And he says to Agrippa, I'm

going to obey this. And I did obey this.

I wasn't disobedient to this vision.

I think that's an important remark to make.

He's chosen, but he has a choice.

Look at verse 17 of Acts 9. So Ananias departed and entered

the house and laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul,

Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you came,

has sent me to you, that you may regain your sight and be filled

with the Holy Spirit. I wish there was a little like

video clip of Ananias hearing from the Lord and the Lord

saying I know he solitizes but go, go go.

He's a chosen instrument of mine.

What did this man look like? Did he walk?

Did he walk around that street called straight a few times

before he walked in? There's no sense of that.

He he obeyed. He obeyed the Lord and he had

this boldness and he had this courage and he walks into this

place and notice this again. Don't read your Bible too fast.

What are the first words of Ananias when he meets Saul?

Brothers Saul. Wow, brothers Saul.

Just a few verses ago, he was like, this guy wants to murder

us. He's changed, He's praying, and

he believed that. And when he saw Saul listen to

this, before Saul's eyes would even see, remember the scales

were falling off his eyes After this, you know where the first

one of the first words he heard a person that he was determined

to kill calling him brother. So Acts 9/22/26 really details

for us the supernatural nature of Paul's conversion, but within

it are other supernatural occurrences, including this one.

Paul experienced Christ in a miraculous way, but there's a

miracle within the miracle in the story, and it's in the life

of Ananias because what Ananias shows is what a relationship

with Jesus Christ can do to us and how we view others.

Paul teaches us how Christ can save anybody.

Ananias shows us how we, because of Christ, can love anybody.

Brother Saul, if you are a devout, ready man who loves the

Lord, not only will you know potential moments of obedience

and service that will exhilarate your life and bless others, but

you will know a heart change in ways that you never thought was

possible. There is so much hatred in this

world. It's nauseating.

It's nauseating. And if it's going to, if it's

going to be anywhere, let it be out in the world.

But God help us in the church. Only Jesus Christ can work in a

heart so powerfully where you can look at the person who had

governmental permission to hurt you.

And you say you're my brother because of Christ, because you

repented and put your faith, now you're my brother.

You can't love like that without Jesus.

You can't. And if you want to see miracles

in your marriage, miracles in your relationships, miracles

even with your enemies, listen. We're living in a world where

Satan is creating a sense of divide unlike any other time in

recent history. Because Satan knows if he can

divide, he can conquer. And the antidote to that is

Christ. So working in our hearts that we

can look at others and called them brothers, sisters Ananias

went and he called them brother Psalm.

And he lays hands on him. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Look what happens here verse 18. 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. So there was no waste of time

here. Ananias obeyed the Lord, and now

Saul is ready to obey the Lord. And one of the first few things

that you do when you want to obey the Lord when you first get

saved. It's OK.

Where's some water? I got to get wet and publicly

declare my faith in Christ. But notice this interesting

phrase. Here.

We're told that he was strengthened.

This is speaking about physical strength.

But it doesn't end there with Paul.

When you read down here, you realize that there was another

strength that he experienced. Look at verse 22.

But Saul increased all the more in strength.

But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the

Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the

Christ. That's not speaking about a

physical strength, that's speaking about a spiritual

strength. So yes, I mean, he was, he was

detained and confined for a few days.

So he needed some physical nourishment.

But shortly after that, he, he tastes and he now invests in

another kind of nourishment for his soul.

He, he was strengthened spiritually.

And can I tell you why he was strengthened spiritually?

Can I tell you why he gave that dedication to his spiritual

strengthened state? And vigor because Ananias told

them something. See Ananias is very brief here

in Acts 9, but when you go to Acts 2022, he elaborated more

according to Paul and look what he says to to Paul in Acts 22.

Look at verse 14 and he said, the God of our fathers appointed

to you to know his will to see the righteous, wanted to hear a

voice from his mouth. That appointment that Paul had,

yes, it was a unique as as an apostle, but let me give you a

thrilling thought this morning. We all have been appointed to

know his will, every single one of us.

And I wonder like Paul, if you are investing in discovering

that. See, Paul wasn't just focused on

the material. Paul wasn't just focused on his

physical condition. Paul realized that there was

something else. There was more to this life.

And it's going to require my participation, my willingness to

know it. I've been appointed to know it,

but it's required something for me to unfold it and to realize

it. And so Paul asked two questions

when he met Christ. And some of you've heard me say

this before, but I can never shake it off because what?

Paul asked when he met Christ is something that a true believer

will ask when he meets Christ and will continue to ask, ask he

as he walks with Christ. And this is where we're almost

ending in Acts 9. Paul asked two questions.

Excuse me, It's actually in this chapter in Acts 22.

So you don't have to go back and forth anymore.

Look back here, verse eight of Acts 22.

This is when Paul met Christ for himself before he encountered

Ananias. The Lord meets him, stops him in

his tracks. And verse 8 and I answered,

here's the first question, who are you, Lord?

And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are

persecuting. Listen, when you first get

saved, you will ask that same question, not just in the

moment, you will always ask it, Who are you, Lord?

Can I ask you? Are you asking that?

Is there anything in your heart today, this weekend we say there

is a yearning in my life to know the person of Jesus Christ.

I know he saved me, but I I want to savor him now.

I want to know who he is, how he thinks, how he feels, what's his

will. Is there anything in you that

says I'm on that journey? Or was it something of the past?

Was it something momentary? But it's dissipated and it's

evaporated because you're now more concerned about

strengthening your bank account more than anything else and

strengthening your relationships that are not necessarily even

godly relationships to begin with.

Strengthening your security and your provision to come.

Strengthening the future of this or the future of that.

Here's a man who tells us that when you really meet Christ and

taste of His glory, you will want to know more of Him.

You can't exhaust him. Who are you, Lord?

But that's not the only question.

Verse nine. Now those who were with me saw

the light, but did not understand the voice of the one

who was speaking to me. And this is the second question

in verse 10. And I said, What shall I do,

Lord? And the Lord said to me, rise

and go into Damascus, and there you'll be told all that is

appointed for you to do. That's the second thing.

Pause. And that's the second thing a

true believer will ask. After he meets Christ, not just

who are you? But what do you want me to do

now? What's my purpose?

What's my gift? What church do you want me to be

a part of? Where do you want me to go?

Where do you want me to say stay?

Lord? I've been doing this for this

long. Do you want me to change?

Lord? I've been serving in this way.

Do you want me to shift? What do you want me to do, Lord?

And let me say this boldly. I know it's the morning session,

but I can't help it. I'm sorry if you have never

asked. Who are you, Lord, and what

shall I do, Lord, You've probably never met Christ.

You haven't. You've heard about him, You've

probably been moved by others who've spoken of Him.

You probably like the songs that sing about Him.

But you haven't met him. If you've never asked, who are

you? And you've never asked, What do

you want me to do? Now let me qualify by saying

it's possible for somebody to meet the Lord and be in a season

in which they're not interested in those things.

And that's where you need a fresh touch from the Lord to

come back to those things being priority in your life.

But if you've never. Inquired.

And you have the audacity to call yourself a born again

Christian? Reconsider.

Reconsider. It's impossible.

It's impossible to meet him and not ask these things.

Who are you, Lord? What do you want me to do?

And that's what Paul shows later on, that this thing lived in him

beyond Acts chapter 9/22/26. Can I show it to you?

Acts 9 · chapter mention

Look at Philippians with me, please.

And look at chapter 3 and look at verse 8.

Unlike many who as the years go by lose interest in those

questions, for Paul that only intensified.

Indeed, I count everything as lost because of their surpassing

worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for His sake, I've

suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish.

You know what that word rubbish is in the original dung.

If you don't know what dung is, look it up later and count them

as rubbish. In order that I may gain Christ

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that

comes from the law, by that which comes through faith in

Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith that I

may know Him. Verse 10.

Well. Paul.

You knew him, You met him. You saw him with your own eyes,

you heard him with your own ears.

But you don't understand. There's more.

There's so much more to know, verse 10, that I may know him.

So listen, if Paul met Christ in such a significant supernatural

way and still after years says I'm still on this quest to know

him, what right do we have to be content where we're at with

Christ? No, right, The lovely believers

here. And I've already talked to a

handful of people with amazing testimonies here, but I've yet

to hear anybody who has a testimony like Paul's.

It would actually concern me if somebody had a testimony like

Paul's with all the wonderful testimonies here.

Please understand that Paul Trump's it all.

And he needed that testimony in order to be a true apostle.

But listen to this. He saw Christ, he heard Christ,

experienced a touch from Christ, and years down the door he goes,

I still need to know Christ. So why is it that we're content

with our boredom with Christ? Something's wrong.

Something's wrong. That I may know in verse 10 and

the power of His resurrection, and may share his sufferings,

becoming like Him in his death, That by any means possum, I may

attain to the resurrection from the dead.

And here's the humbling part. Look at verse 12.

Not that I've already obtained this, huh?

Not that I've already obtained this or I am already perfect,

but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me

His own. So this is a very

straightforward, simple, simple sermon and the sermons to come.

There's going to be a lot of cross referencing, but I just

want to ask you if you've been asking those questions recently,

who are you, Lord, what shall I do?

Because you as a Christian have been appointed to know who He

is, to know His will. You know what's so amazing?

After Acts 9 by way of narrative, you never hear of

Ananias again. He disappears, but he is forever

connected to the world evangelizing ministry of the

Apostle Paul. And also, is He attached to the

fact that He played a role in a man who would write most of the

New Testament? So knowing his will may not

necessarily mean having this grand, spectacular,

internationally recognized ministry.

You might be a disciple who will be hidden in plain sight for

most of your life, but have momentary times of obedience.

If you yield to Him that can make an impact beyond what you

can imagine. Do not disqualify or

underestimate how you remaining devout and ready to do the will

of the Lord can cause something that can change the world.

Ananias is evidence of that. Ananias, Paul is praying.

You can go to him, and later we're going to discover the

amazing prayer life of Paul that will surely add fuel to your

fire. In that same practice, let's

seek the Lord together, shall we?

But we thank you for allowing us to get a glimpse of a man who

did not deserve to be saved, but was wonderfully snatched from

the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of

your beloved Son. But we also thank you that in

his story is another story of a man who is simply a disciple

reminds us that if we simply focus on our devotion and are

constantly ready to do what you will, that you can recruit us at

any moment to do wonderful things below whatever, whether

it's wonderful or not. Help us simply be consumed with

the personal intimate passion to know who you are and to do

whatever it is that you want us to do, whether it's praised or

overlooked, whether it's public or private.

Help us, Lord, find delight again in that pursuit.

And so, Lord, we just ask that even this conference would be

used as recalibration to asking who are you, Lord, and to

seeking you about what we shall do.

And we trust that as we do that, you're going to be faithful to

answer. We love you and we look to you

and we honor you in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. The priest thing can come.