Used of God (Part 2 of 2)

We may not be famous or wealthy. But God doesn't choose us based on our skills or our resources. He chooses those who are willing and then uses them in mighty ways today on Truth for Life. Alastair beg invites us to identify God's call in each of our lives. It's a study in acts chapter 9 but we begin with the story from first Samuel's ear tuned to the voice of God tonight. Do you hear God speak to you through the word, I can still recall the thrill of the Sunday school lesson on first Samuel chapter 3 how I loved and loved that story how I thought that Eli was a real dead brain you know when Samuel kept going through to his bedroom as the Sunday school teacher told me about going through, waking him up. Did you call me a line now back your bad son okay third time back to Eli, Eli and then Eli says, oh, wait a minute, I've got it now.

Sorry, here we go go back go back when the voice comes again. Say speak Lord for your servant here or to preach to congregations who come to the worship of God on the Lord's day with that as their theme, not this scrambling gambling horde of people talking about where they're going for lunch and who knows what will happen in the next general election or wait a minute I think I just have the buzzer going. I think it must be worship beginning. No know people who are coming to the word of God saying speak because I'm listening not entertainment not coming to get points out of 10 guys running along? Good. No goods but coming because they want God to speak. That's discipleship. That's Ananias he had any year that was open to the voice of God.

God give us six years. But not only was that the case he also had a will that was obedient to the Lord's command for many of us may have had the voice but never obeyed the call.

Some of us may be in this meeting tonight and we had the voice somewhere along the line or someone preach start through the counsel and guidance of a loved one or a friend and we made a commitment to the Lord. We told him we were going to do something or we were going to go somewhere.

We were prepared to give or spend our lives in a certain way and we were so sure is that time came to an end of years or months of past when no further down the line during God is gratified by the fact that we had an emotional surge at the end of a meeting somewhere that we just add his voice. Jesus said, I'll tell you the guy who really follows me is the one who hears my voice and puts into practice what I tell her back on the children's Sunday school again right the foolish man built his house upon the sand foolish man member that used to slap the person space next to you if you got the chance during this sand foolish man built the house on sand sand and and the rain and it is Sunday school teachers are going crazy and are they trying to teach Scripture with the songs and you're beating the person around you are stuck and the walls came tumbling down right and the wise man built his house upon the rock. We know that was the difference.

The wise man and the foolish man both had the same message. The difference was one did what he was told and Ellen was contented to serve him as when Jesus said, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, then we do all these things and do this and do that and do the next thing to say.

You better get earlier I know your and he asked why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things I tell you if I'm Lord, your baby if you don't obey me. I'm not more. Ananias not only had any year that haired Deanna will that of the I noticed that he obeyed before he had the specific details of what he had to do God spoke Ananias yes Lord, he knew who he was talking to.

Yes, and then comes the instruction very very clear when you go to straight Street while everybody knew straight Street Everybody Knows Straight St. in Damascus today. It runs 3 miles from east to west. Still, there are exactly as it was then but it still straight Street, straight Street, he says, and you will ask for a man from Tarsus is called Saul for what he is and how is my Harrah's ears must've been open now as for a guy called Saul thing Saul for he is praying, praying in a vision he seen a man named Ananias, and place his hands on him to restore his science now. I love Ananias because he saw human verse 13 more. Ananias answered, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your sins in Jerusalem and he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name Lord could easily have answers that are Ananias, are you trying to inform me of something are you trying to tell me something I don't already know, simply as Moses while you know I'm not a very good speaker. God there is a tough guy, really the big problems in Egypt and a younger brother. He's released with menu.

You should meet my brother he can do the stop. God said he Moses, who made your mouth by okay I got a clear and humanity of the response.

The natural response of his heart. Listen, I'm scared hard for us to grasp trying create a scene. The church in America is under persecution. Churches are being close people, submachine guns and boarding up the doors anyone shows up at churches started in the vans and driven away and put in and in and incarcerated, i.e. put in jail and one of the biggest persecutors has just presided over the death of one of the key church figures in Chicago and he's on his way to Detroit's where is planning to have an even bigger celebration of his persecution and as he makes his journey something happens to a God speaks to you and says I want you to go and meet this fellow. He's on I 96.

He's in a parked car not far from the service area go there. He's been praying lay our hands on arguing.

If you I think you're honest you feel perhaps two reactions. One direction of fear into the reaction of resentment. We can only assume that Ananias being a human individual knew something of that again God overcame his fear God proved in Ananias's life.

What Paul later told Timothy a Timothy didn't give you a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, and some of us are waiting until our fear is overcome, to be obedient and God says you be obedient and I'll help your fear to be overcome summary that was the experience of Ananias. Also, he may well have felt a measure of resentment. After all, he was coming to destroy the Christians, of whom he was a part. The use of Stephen had already begun to travel and get his Ananias was obedient to God. God given victory over any feelings of dislike that he may well of them coming to this man Saul of Tarsus and he was able to bless the one who had cursed the Christians he was able to pray for the one who despitefully use them. I can imagine some of us arriving there, we might've dealt with them very differently. Verse 17 he not only had an ear that was open to the Lord's voice. He had a will that was obedient to the Lord's command and he was used in the Lord's service.

Verse 17 then Ananias went to the house and entered it, placing his hands on Saul. He said brother so that I so familiar to us. I wish I was somehow. It could not be familiar so that it could strike is with freshness again and notice the courage of Ananias.

He went in the house.

Notice the love of Ananias he called him brother saw as heavy-duty folks as big time. Sometimes our expressions of affection for those who are in the family of faith is an awful lot colder than the one that is displayed here by Ananias. I can imagine some of as I can imagine myself going along here, especially if people from the church find out that we were going right as you might have some kind of third-degree separation you go to deal with, or something of 4th° because after all, you know, Saul knew so-and-so who knew so-and-so use also, since he knew so-and-so you can speak to so-and-so because the social social social social problem is going to come out in noise. A major issue. We might've gone into the room and said hey you know Saul I I want you to know before we get started on anything at all that I am here reluctant and I want you to know that I don't approve anything that you've been doing and furthermore I am not even sure that your proper question Saul of Tarsus, and so on and so on. Because we need to cover ourselves so that everybody back home didn't think that somehow we had compromise the gospel. We were prepared to welcome somebody who didn't fit the bill, not Ananias God said go as Ananias said fine.

You went in the room.

He said hey God spoke to me in this way and this happened to Saul.

Saul, my brother brother Saul as you know, Saul felt he sees a blinding light at the time of the noonday sun was in the sun was greater than the noonday sun. That's the last thing he sees now as he sits in the darkness never try that sitting in the darkness with your eyes closed and having one of your children lead you around the room. It's scary especially if your children are like my children, you never know whether the Legion I sat and Saul of Tarsus is sitting there in the quietness of the room understood by airplane noise, nothing at all, just in total silence. Various Fedora's who knows of Ananias, let himself in, or not in a man comes up to him and put his hands on a real important for the fellowships should brother Saul. What a lovely example. This is of compassion, of obedience of gentleness of discipleship.

How prone some of his doctor. The pharisaical spirit, we would've stood and stood with the Pharisees instead of Jesus. This is ridiculous. He's going in and spending time with people like Zacchaeus, what's he doing going into a house like that, doesn't he know who Zacchaeus is.

Jesus comes out and says I know exactly who Zacchaeus and that's why I was in his house because it is not those who are well who need a doctor but it is sick. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to see that which was lost. Some of our church fellowships loved ones need a jolly good shape. Don't think we need a shake from the inside out. We need a shake by the spirit of God to take us back out into the highways and byways and the thought affairs of our life. How quick we have been to condemn how quick we are to tell those young people that the records of all a load of nonsense.

How quick we are to condemn the homosexual population while who's going to go to the Jesus went to the lepers, who are the lepers in our Western culture would we go to them when we touch them. When we put our hands on them. If Jesus said we have to see that discipleship and ear open. I will ready a life used the humility that he displays is equally marked by the loyalty that he shows he doesn't come in and give a speech about who he is.

He doesn't come in and tell Saul who he was or what he done. No big introductions, no fanfares. He was just a satin disciple doing what discipleship do that is doing what they're told what course we suffer from.

With the preoccupation with personalities in our day.

How easily we fall into the trap. What a challenge to live a humble life. How quick we are to want to write the book, humility, and how I attained how quick to put on the noticeboard of our offices. No I am not conceited, although I have every right to be so alas how seldom do I find my own life.

The grace of humility, which is the very soil in which the seeds of God's manifold goodness could all this is the man or the woman says God, to whom I will look he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and you trembles at my word. May the Lord be merciful to the church congregations to the search committees of our land that can find a pastor because they can't find a big enough name wherever did you learn in the Bible that God somehow had pledged himself to big names and think guys and break shows. So what happened to us. Are we rewriting the Bible God loves to use satin disciple's like Ananias with three lines in the whole of the New Testament to his name, but I well done in the kingdom of heaven, to believe that love points to see what that does some wrap it up. Now you be pleased to hear what this says to me is this lesson you just concentrate on doing what disciples do which is having any year that is open to God's voice, having a will that is obedience to God's command and having a life that is sacrifice for usefulness in his servants, don't you worry about where you're going to go what you're going to do, how you managed to do it. You don't worry about any of that stuff you just trust your heavenly father. Just do what Corrie 10 boom did as he describes it in the hiding place. She tells how her dad told her that she would go on a train journey and that she would have the ticket on the day of the journey and remember how she tells. He kept going back to advancing. When will I get the ticket.

This was two weeks before the journey, and her father set her on the data clean go shall have the tickets she said. And so it is with God were so busy going by worrying about the tickets cost is on the data train goes, you'll have the ticket. Just trust me while I want to wish you a call tonight to discipleship, not a call to be a leader not a call to be a preacher are called to be an official protocol to be a personality protocol to be known are called to be famous, but a call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ a faithful follower so that on the day when we stand before whether it be in the rearing of our children as we nurture them through RB, whether it be as a godly granular godly grandpa Willoughby is a young single person making our journey through a career in nursing ordinance and when it be at a factory bencher sweeping the floor to the glory of God that we would have as our epitaph here was a disciple of Jesus Christ. That would be an will you say well is not just true for all of us know. I don't think so.

Children's chorus 12 men went to spy and Canaan Dan were to work good. What is the seed to spy and Canaan Dan were bad to some saw the grapes in clusters fall to saw that God was in middle and Dan were bad and to see Joshua and Caleb stood out from the pack is the engineer that was over I will that was obedient and feet that were in his service, John Knox and them writes in his poetry to every soul there open at the way and the ways underway in the high soul treads the Heisel low road and the lost soul groups below and in between on the misty flats. The rest direct to and from to every man that opened the way and the ways underway in the highest, Saul treads the high road and the loss all groups below and Everyman decided the way his soul will go you want to just drift with the group riders flopped back and forth you want to go for God to want to be satin disciple called Mary called Jean call John call George who lived in Grand Rapids who lived in Detroit, who live in wherever it lives. You take care of doing what you're told and let God take care of putting you where he wants you. That's discipleship and that's the example of Ananias satin disciple in Damascus, a straightforward and challenging call from Alastair back on Truth for Life. Today's message is titled used of God's part of our series called jars of Clay courage to obey God.

No matter the circumstances that something that doesn't just happen automatically.

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