Readiness

 “Here I am, Lord”

(Acts 9:10-16, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 15, 2012)

10 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.”

“There was a disciple...” This is the story of the Christian church. The King of the church who died for our sins and rose for our victory works through a disciple here, two of them there, 100 in a third place, and the kingdom of heaven continues its long march toward the day of fulfillment when the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised. What a privilege to suffer for the sake of the Lord who suffered for our eternal good! What a joy it is to serve Jesus Christ!

The Lord who knows His people by name is able to reach us. One time in one way, another time in a different way, the God who reigns touches the hearts of disciple after disciple in an unmistakable call to action. Here in a vision, there in a special act of providence, another time in the encouragement of friends, even in the taunt of detractors, God will let you know what He wants you to do, whether small or great. When He calls, don't be tongue-tied. Get used to His touch, His voice, His love by a habit of continual communion. When He calls, here is what you say: “Here I am, Lord.” Let the spirit of your ready heart speak the words that Eli taught to little Samuel, “Speak Lord, your servant listens!”

11 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, 12 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.”

There was a very large Jewish community in Damascus at this time. Among them were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. That was why Saul was traveling to Damascus in the first place. Some of the Jews there who believed Jesus had probably come from Jerusalem, since they had been scattered by the persecution connected with the murder of Stephen.

The Lord gave to Ananias, as one among many Jews, an unmistakable message. On the face of it, His command was actually not difficult to obey. He told Ananias to get up, go to a certain street and a given house on that street, and that a certain visitor who would be there. That man would be waiting for him. Even the miracle of restoring the man's sight would not be hard for Ananias, since all he would have to do would be to lay hands on him. The hard part was actually giving Saul back his sight, and only God could do that. It is not hard for one man to lay hands on another. But only God can do miracles. Yet He uses men like Ananias.

13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

As it turns out Ananias's response was a push-back to God. The problem was not that he had to get up and go to a specific house. The problem was the man he would find there. Ananias had heard from many people about Saul of Tarsus. This man had done evil things to followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. His fame had reached all the way to Damascus, and those who knew that Jesus was the Messiah were afraid of him.

Not only did Ananias know about Saul, he also knew about Saul's trip. He knew that Saul was not coming here on his own authority. He had authorization from the chief priests in Jerusalem to put in chains all who were calling on the Name of Jesus. We are reminded back to the preaching of Peter from Acts 2. There Peter expounded the message from Joel 2:32, that all who called upon the Name of the Lord would be saved. Peter explained that the Name was Jesus. To call upon His Name was to worship the Lord through association with this one Way between heaven and earth. This was and is the only Name given among men by which we must be saved.

God was commanding Ananias to go to Saul, the persecutor of all who believed in the Name of Jesus as the Name above all names. Ananias did not want to obey.

15 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. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

But the Lord made it clear that this man who had done so much evil in Jerusalem, and who had come to Damascus to do more evil, would be God's chosen instrument. When we hear the Lord's insistence that Ananias should go to Saul, we are reminded of the power of God, that even out of the wrath of His enemies the Lord has ordained praise.

The Lord chose Saul of Tarsus. This persecutor of the church would carry the Name of Jesus before Gentiles and Jews, even before kings. This man with such missionary zeal for Pharisaic Judaism would now speak for the Son of God. His former allies would be his new enemies. He was once an agent of evil, inflicting unjust suffering upon the body of Christ. Now he would have to suffer for the Name that he had hated, the Name of the Savior who died for Him, Jesus.

Saul would not be able to see without the hands of Ananias. If Ananias had refused the job, the Lord would have accomplished deliverance for His people in some other way. But Ananias had come to the kingdom for such a time as this. This was his finest hour; the time to get up and go.

Can you imagine God working through you; hearing His clear direction, obeying His Word, and glorifying His Name through your body and soul? The Lord humbled a proud Pharisee, Saul, bringing him to the point where He would receive healing and blessing from a Christian Jew. And the Lord gave boldness and trust to a Jew living in Damascus, Ananias, a man who had to come to know and follow God's voice.

When God called His Son Jesus to do His part in our salvation, Jesus knew the danger and horror of the mission. He asked for some other way. When Ananias, the Lord's disciple was approached by God to perform an important task, though he first said, “Here I am, Lord,” he then found out who was involved, and He pushed back. Yet when the command was given again so clearly, there was simply no way to say “No.”

There is no room around the circle of the faithful, for anyone to ultimately refuse the King who died for him. We need to train our hearts to say “Yes” to God. And we need God to equip our bodies and souls for acts of ever-increasing obedience.

All of our obedience starts with the cross of Christ, the source of all courage for those who have been cleansed in the blood of the Lamb of God. From that place of divine strength through holy suffering, God tells us where we are to go, who will be there, and how we are to touch their lives today. We need to be ready to say, “Here I am, Lord!” There was a man of Nazareth called Jesus. And there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. God used him to saved the world.

1. What do we know about Ananias and the Jews in Damascus?

2. What was God's direct command to Ananias recorded here?

3. What was Ananias's full answer to God's direct command?

4. What do we learn from the Lord's final answer to Ananias that might help us in our communion with God and our walk with the Lord in our day?

OT Passage: Esther 4