The Reluctant Witness

 

March 14, 2021            NOTES NOT EDITED
A Reluctant Witness
Acts 9:10-25

SIS—We can and must overcome our reluctance to sharing the gospel with a lost and dying world.

VIDEO:  Bold and Daring (and a Bit Crazy) Stunts

1.  God has a mission with your name on it. (10-11)

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. 

God addressed Ananias “personally,” by name.  Let me clear up a misconception many people have about Christianity. I’ve heard people discourage the open sharing of one’s faith by saying, “salvation is a personal matter.”  That statement is absolutely true, depending upon how one defines “personal.”  The problem is that many use the word, ‘personal’, in an equivocal, or ambiguous way.  Yes, Christianity is “personal,” but it is NOT “private.” God’s agents are not “secret agents.”  Just like Ananias (and everyone else ever called by God in the Bible to have a relationship with Him, God has a mission and purpose in life with our name on it.

God called Ananias by name.  Ananias responded immediately and positively, and with great faith, “Here I am, Lord.”  There was zero hesitation or reluctance at first. 

Notice Ananias addresses God as, “Lord.”  The word, “lord, (GK. kurios”) refers to a person who exercises absolute control over another person.  The key word is, “absolute.” Kurios was used of Caesar, or any other powerful ruler who expected absolute obedience.  When used of God in the Hebrew O.T., it refers to Yahweh Who has eternal and absolute authority over all of creation. In fact, Jews would substitute the word, adonai, the Hebrew equivalent for the Greek word, kurios, anytime the Holy Name of God, Yahweh, appeared in the sacred text.  The Biblical use of kurios and adonai, carry the meaning of “Absolute, Eternal Lord God.” As our Lord, God deserves and demands absolute obedience to His commands. Or, as my Dad would say, “obedience with no if, ands, or buts!”

It is hard for most people, in the Western world especially, to grasp the idea of “Absolute Lordship.” A living example of “absolute Lordship” is the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.  North Korea has been ruled by three men from one family since 1948.  The “Kims” demand absolute obedience and maintain absolute control.  For example, it is against the law to smile or even talk loudly on July 8^th.  This is the anniversary of the death of the first Kim to rule North Korea, Kim Ill-Sung who died on that date in 1994.   In 2015, the country's defense minister was publicly executed an anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep during one of Kim Jong-un's events, which was considered disrespectful. In 2013, the Supreme Leader of North Korea introduced a list of haircuts residents can have. There are reportedly 18 choices for women and ten for men.

In the same way that the Kims represent absolute “lordship” in N. Korea in a depraved, evil way, Jesus represents “absolute Lordship” in a benevolent, holy, righteous way.  But, make no mistake about it, the Lordship of Christ is also reflected in His absolute wrath upon all rebellion and unrighteousness.  When Ananias referred to Jesus as “Lord,” Ananias recognized God’s “absolute” control over every aspect of his life.  Ananias immediately responded in obedience, “Here I am, Lord” (v10). 

In a moment we will see that Ananias will become a bit more reluctant as the details unfold for the mission that God has planned for him, and with good reason.  Ananias, however, will end up on the right side of things, because Jesus is his “Lord.”

God had a mission with Ananias’ name on it.  He has a mission with your name on it also, if you have accepted the gift of salvation and have been filled with the Holy Spirit.  Second, we learn from Ananias

2.  Fear is Normal—Even Expected (13-14)

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

Now, after Ananias had a moment to think about it, his unwavering faith began to waver a bit.  Verse 1 describes the man, Saul, to whom the Jew, Ananias, was being sent to validate as a spokesman for Christianity.  Saul was a surprising choice to be such a spokesman:

Acts 9:1–2  ¹ Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

What God was asking Ananias to do is a bit like God asking you or I to go to Iran and preach on the street corner.  They would snatch you up, put you in jail, beat you mercilessly, and then cut off your head!  Muslim nations don’t take kindly to Christian street preachers. Sharia law declares that making converts to Christianity is a capital offense.

I’m not suggesting in any way that if God calls you to go preach on the street corner in Iran, that you refuse to go.  I’m just suggesting that it would be normal for you to experience a little fear.

Now, our situation of sharing with our neighbors is nothing like that of what Ananias was being asked to do—to go to someone “breathing out threats and murder,” but for most of us the call to the mission of sharing the gospel with our family and friends does conjure up feelings of fear and anxiety.  That is only normal.  Jesus said, “I send you as sheep out among wolves.”  (Mt. 10:16).  Of course a sheep is going to feel fear among wolves. 

There are three sources for our fear that cause us to be reluctant to share the gospel.

a.  There’s an Infernal Source.  Simply stated, “The Devil hates God.”  The word, ‘hate,’ falls far short of how the Devil feels about God, but it’s the best word I have. Every time a follower of Christ shares the gospel and a person gets saved, the Devil loses a soul he once had.  This infuriates him.  He will unleash all the minions of hell to discourage a follower of Christ from seeking to be a soul-winner.  The Devil is an “Infernal Source” of fear in regard to witnessing.

b.  There’s an External Source for our fear.  Most people with whom we speak will reject the message of the gospel. They may reject the gospel with varying degrees of animosity, or perhaps reject it with no animosity at all.  But, the spirit of this world is the spirit of the Infernal Enemy of God, the Devil, and the deck is stacked against any believer who dares to “boldly go where no man has gone before”  and witness to the world.  The cultural animosity to the gospel in the United States increasingly marginalizes anyone who believes Jesus is the “only Way, the only Truth, and the Only Life.”  This external pressure to silence the witnesses of God will only increase as we approach the end times.  These “External Sources” cause fear and anxiety, especially if we spend time dwelling on them.

c.  There’s an Internal Source for our fear.  Pride in our own heart makes us reluctant to share the gospel.  This is a “biggy” when it comes to being a “Reluctant Witness.”  All of us naturally want to be liked. No one—at least no one who is normal—likes rejection.  Many more people will reject our witness than will accept it.  This hurts our ego.  We want to “fit in” to the world around us and this makes us reluctant to share the sometimes hard-hitting message of God’s Truth.

So, many factors contribute to our reluctance, or fear, in regard to sharing our faith with others.  Fear is normal, and even expected.  We can, however, overcome these fears even as Ananias overcame his fears by simply trusting that God is greater than any force or circumstance we may encounter.

This leads me to another lesson in our text showing us how we can overcome any and every reluctance to sharing the gospel:

3.  God has already worked out all the details (11-12; 15-19)

¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for 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.”

……………………………………………….

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, 

Uncertainty naturally breeds fear and or reluctance, but, with God, nothing is uncertain. One of my favorite Bible verses, actually it is my life verse, comes from Jer. 29:11.  Israel was facing great uncertainty in their future.  The pagan nations were circling Israel like buzzards circling a dying antelope.  Israel was facing a great challenge for the nation.  Fear gripped the nation of Israel.  Jeremiah answered with these words of hope in face of a great challenge:

¹¹ ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 

The same God that spoke to Ananias had already spoken to Saul.  There would be no surprises.  God had a plan and God’s plans always work out—not some of the time, not most of the time, but all of the time.  Job, even as his life was one tangled mess of trouble cried out:

^{Job 42:2}  “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 

There are no “accidental encounters” for God’s children.  Everyone you meet is a “divine appointment.”  The sovereignty of God does not cover “most” things in our lives, but it covers everything in our lives.  Look again at verse 17:

¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

God works both sides of the aisle.  God prepares those whom He sends and He also prepares those to whom we are sent.  But, wait, “I object,” you might say.  If God prepares every encounter then why do most people reject Him?  This is a very good question and one with a very good answer:  every divine appointment is not an appointment with grace.  Sometimes God sends us to give the Law and the warning of judgment to come.  In several places God declares that He has a different plan for each encounter.  James and Peter both declare (Jam. 4:6; 1Pet. 5:5):

⁶“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Every divine encounter fulfills God’s divine plan, even though the outcomes vary. Ananias was not responsible for what Saul did or did not do.  Ananias was simply responsible to go and do as God directed.  God works out all the details and His plan always succeeds.

Never place our confidence in your ability to speak, or some clever “plan of salvation,” or anything else in this world.  Place all your confidence in God’s Holy Spirit directing and planning the divine encounters of your life. 

When you realize God has already worked out all the details, then your reluctance to share the gospel will melt like a snowball in the desert.

4.  Incredible things happen when we witness (20-22)

Of all the lessons we can glean from the life and witness of Ananias, I think this one is most important in regard to overcoming the reluctance we have when witnessing.  Look what the Bible says happened as a result of Ananias’ faithfulness:

²⁰ and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” ²¹ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

The transforming power of the gospel is astonishing.  Here we have the testimony of Saul, first “breathing out threats and murders,” against the Christians and now he himself is the target of hatred and murder because of his “astounding and effective” preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What a glorious transformation!  The gospel can transform lives like nothing else in the world.

The transforming power of the gospel is demonstrated literally millions upon millions of times throughout history. Almost everyone in the world has heard the hymn, “Amazing Grace” with the lyrics, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound // that saved a wretch like me.”  John Newton was that wretch. As the Captain of a slave-trading ship he trafficked in human flesh—the most vile commerce one could ever imagine. But, the grace of the gospel miraculously transformed John Newton from a slave-ship captain, to a slave of Jesus Christ preaching the transforming gospel.

The Book of Acts begins with 120 disciples in the Upper Room praying. Pentecost came and the population grew to 3000 in one day.  In Acts chapter 3 another 2000 were saved.  By chapter 5, “multitudes were being saved” (v 12).  By chapter 9, the most notorious persecutor of the church, Saul, was saved and gloriously transformed from the “arch enemy” of Jesus to his most ardent defender!  There is no—let me repeat it—there is no transforming power in all the world than the gospel. 

In only about 300 years from the birth of the church at Pentecost, the gospel would become so pervasive and so powerful that the Roman Emperor, Constantine, would have to embrace it, just so the Roman Empire could continue.  Today, Christianity is found in every corner of the globe.  There are now over 2 billion Christians world-wide. 

I wish I had kept a written record of all the lives I’ve seen “miraculously transformed” by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Lives are radically changed in ways that cannot even be calculated this side of heaven.  I remember a young boy who got saved. He brought his two sisters to church and they got saved. I then had the privilege of baptizing his alcoholic father. Stories of lives transformed by the gospel abound by the millions in our world.  Incredible things happen when God’s people share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Oh what a miraculous transformation would take place in our local communities week if “Reluctant Witnesses” would enthusiastically and passionately preach the gospel to family, friends, and neighbors. As I’ve told you before, our nation is not going to experience a great transformation, but, we can see a great harvest of souls if we overcome our reluctance and faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

❶ God has a mission with your name on it.  ❷ Fear is normal—even to be expected.  ❸ God has already worked out all the details of our encounters.  And, ❹ incredible things happen when we overcome our reluctance and share the gospel.

Ask God to give you the courage to boldly and enthusiastically share the gospel every chance you get.

FOR UNBELIEVERS:  This morning we looked at the “gospel” from the perspective of the “witness” or speaker.  Everything that applies to the Reluctant Witness also applies to the Reluctant Listener. Perhaps today you realize that you have been resistant, or even openly rebellious to hearing the gospel.  You hear with your ears, but your heart does not surrender.

Everything I said about being a “reluctant speaker of the gospel” applies to being “reluctant hearer of the gospel.”  God has a mission in life with your name on it.  You were planned by God and God has plans for your life.  It is normal to be a little fearful or apprehensive about turning control of your life over to God. It is the biggest decision you will ever make—the only decision that will last for eternity.  “Hearing the gospel with your heart” will set your life on a whole new path, but you can be sure that God has all the details worked out (Psalm 139:16). Finally, Incredible things will happen when you stop being a “Reluctant Listener” and surrender your life to Jesus Christ as the Lord, the Chief Executive Officer, of your life.