What If Your Plans Crumble? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: When your plans crumble, remember God’s plans are always better.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 9:23-31
This morning feels like a “part 2” in several ways. Honestly, I even considered not covering these verses this morning and just moving on to the next passage. In the pre-snow day plan ☺️, we would have covered these verses in the evening service, and it would have directly followed our conversation about how both Ananias and Saul reacted to calls they didn’t necessarily want. In the interest of full disclosure, I condensed this message and posted it on facebook our second snow-Sunday. I also discussed it in a “half-time show devotion” for Upward Basketball last week. That means, some of you have heard a portion of this message before, so I didn’t want to come across as redundant. Nonetheless, Thursday as I was working on school work and the sermon notes for the next passages, I was hit with how much I need to hear this entire message.
See, the title question for this morning is “What If Your Plans Crumble?”. And honestly guys, I don’t handle that well. Though I tend to be a pretty go with the flow kind of guy, there are certain tasks I try to accomplish at certain times every week to keep my sanity, and when one of those slips...so do I. Just ask my wife. She’s witnessed my breakdowns more times that I like to admit. So, if this message isn’t for anyone else, I know it’s for me. Nonetheless, as a society, we tend to be very goal oriented, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Having goals can be incredibly important. However, we have to keep those goals subservient to God’s ultimate plan for our lives. If not, we risk making our goals our god. Let’s read Acts 9:23-31 then we’ll break down our gist for this morning.
“23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
As always, there is so much we could takeaway from this passage. However, I want to focus in on how nothing went according to plan for Saul here. In fact, if anyone understands what it means to not have life go according to plan, it was him. He was a privileged religious leader in Jerusalem. When the Christian church started spreading after Jesus ascended into Heaven, Saul made it his personal mission to destroy the church. He stood by and watched approvingly as the first Christian was martyred. Then, he started going door to door, ripping Christians from their homes and dragging them to similar trials. But this wasn’t enough, so he got permission to extend his hunt to an ancient and influential city called Damascus. On his way there, Jesus messed him up. He was just trotting along and was suddenly surrounded by a great light. He was face-to-face with the risen Jesus, and called on the carpet for his sin and brought to his knees as he realized his need for this one he had been persecuting. The experience left him stunned...but also blind, so he had to be led by the hand until God sent another disciple to heal his vision. Then, Saul started preaching the word, and people were amazed, but even that didn’t go exactly as planned. He ends up becoming the most influential spreader of the gospel in the early church, but not without seeing everything he had to have been expecting being flipped upside down repeatedly.
Our gist today is straightforward. When your plans crumble, remember God’s plans are always better.
I. WHEN YOUR PLANS CRUMBLE
Let’s start by breaking down the crumbling of Saul’s plan. First, we see→
God’s Timing Is Better Even When It Seems Like We’re Running Toward A Dead End. Let me make a few observations here.
1. Delay in Time. Verse 23 has this little phrase “When many days had passed” which might leave us asking… “how many days”? Maybe not. Maybe we just gloss over that. I know I have pretty much every other time I’ve read this passage. However, that phrase can be used to express almost any amount of time. Thankfully, we don’t have to speculate here because Saul later tells us exactly how much time had passed. Check out Galatians 1:13-18, "13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days." There was a three year time gap between his conversion and this plot to kill him. During that time, he was living in relative obscurity. Nonetheless, we know he wasn’t just wasting his time. He was sharing the Gospel and communing with God. He was being prepared for what would later come.
Nonetheless, from a human standpoint, we have to understand that there was a delay. I think it’s easy to read Scripture and think, ‘man, Saul went from the persecutor to the missionary in like a day, but I feel like I’ve been stuck for years.’ However, it wasn’t like that. Saul was saved and immediately began proclaiming the Gospel. However, there is somewhere between and 10-15 year gap between his conversion and when he went on that first missionary journey.
These might be more like midway takeaways, but I have to make these two quick observations here:
1. There is no such thing as wasted time...unless you waste it. Paul didn’t wait to become the great missionary to begin being used by God. You might not be where you want to be right now, but you’re exactly where God put you. Let Him use you here.
2. Patience is a virtue because God knows what He’s doing. The events in our lives might not make sense, but we have to remember--they just don’t make sense… to us. His plan is secure!
The second observation to make here is not only did he experience time delays, but he also experienced his→
2. Plotted Death. “the Jews plotted to kill him,” Oh, how the tables have turned. He came to do this to other believers. Three years later, his former allies want his life! This wasn’t part of his plan. Suffering probably isn’t part of yours either. However, as Christians we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. In fact, on Wednesday night’s we just wrapped up the beatitudes with the youth, and I think that final one really speaks to this situation: Matthew 5:10-12, "10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Furthermore→
We need to humbly embrace His timing and direction. (24-25) After finding out about this plot to kill him, Saul is rescued...by the people he used to want to kill...and let down a window in a basket. From what I’ve studied, the only baskets that would have just been lying around at this time that would have been big enough to put a man in were trash baskets. He came in on his high horse and left with the trash. His entire perspective has changed. Ironically, it was when he was most arrogant that his condition was really lowest and when he was most low that his condition was most elevated!
Likewise, we need to be humbled→
Even when it means rejection from...everybody. (26) At this point, Saul doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break. The Jews want to kill him. He escapes in a trash can. Then, he goes to Jerusalem , “26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.” ! Like we observed last week, God’s calling isn’t always easy. Often, it will challenge our expectations and shake up our plans. But→
II. REMEMBER GOD’S PLANS ARE ALWAYS BETTER
I feel like I’m doing a lot of takeaways on the fly this morning...but I guess I’ll just keep with that trend here ☺️. And I’ll try not to draw this out too much.
Because God’s plans are always better, we see that we need to→
Keep God’s Perspective Foremost! (27) Look at Barnabas’ example in verse 27, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.” Barnabas is an excellent example of the love of Jesus. He is passionate about compassionately reaching out with the Gospel. We see that pretty much everytime we encounter him in Scripture. Here, he knows Saul had met with Jesus, so he’s willing to take a “chance” on this unwanted man. He looks at Saul through the eyes of Jesus. We need to do the same with not only our individual circumstances, but also with every individual we encounter. People are in our lives for a reason. We have to reach out to them while we can!
We also need to→
Preach Boldly. (28-29) Look back at verse 28-29, “28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.” These are the people who killed Stephen. The one’s Saul used to support. Now, he’s preaching to them...and they want to kill him. This isn’t new anymore, and it doesn’t stop him from proclaiming the truth. However, he does need rescued from them, and this happens because of this new life and new family he has in Jesus. We, too, need to→
Rely on This New Family! (30) “And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.” The bond here is all because of this new life. We need each other! Don’t try and live this life without the body of Christ...and don’t let others either!
Lastly, we need to→
Let God Take Care Of The Increase. (31) Verse 31, tells us the church grows after all this, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.” This is due to multiple issues. For one, Saul isn’t persecuting them anymore--and he was the most zealous of their agents. However, this was also due to a change in Sanhedrin leadership and even a switch in Roman emperors. This new guy, Caligula, was not as nice to the Jews and ended up causing several conflicts with them (David Williams). So basically, the opposition got distracted. Nonetheless, these “distractions” weren’t just happenstances. Jesus was working to move His Church...even if it seemed like well laid plans were crumbling!
TAKEAWAYS
Ok, so I’ve been dropping takeaways as we went today, so let’s just wrap up with this quick recap.
1. Don’t be discouraged when His timing isn’t what you expected. There is no such thing as wasted time...unless you waste it. Patience is a virtue because God knows what He’s doing.
2. Don’t be discouraged when your calling means suffering for His name.
3. Never forget, you’re called by JESUS for a purpose! You are loved, and He has a plan for your life! That’s not a motivational sticker...it’s amazing grace!
4. Never forget, you weren’t called to a do this on your own...and neither was the rest of the Church! Let me just say this again: We need each other! Don’t try and live this life without the body of Christ...and don’t let others either!
5. Never forget, God is moving. Even when you don’t see Him, trust.
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