Why Is This Happening To You? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: God uses real life to prepare us for real ministry.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 22-23:11
This morning we’re picking up where we left Paul last week. He has finally made it to Jerusalem, and, just like the Holy Spirit told him, there’s been trouble. After a mob broke out and tried to kill him for supposedly breaking Jewish laws (which he had not), the Roman officials had to step in and carry him away because the crowd was so violent. However, most people, including the officials carrying him away, didn’t even know what Paul was supposed to have done. They were just joining in on the chaos. In fact, when Paul spoke to the Roman guard in Greek, the guard was shocked because he was under the impression Paul was an Egyptian who was leading some thousands of assassins out in the desert! In the midst of this confusion, Paul asks to speak to the crowd and is allowed to do so...which is incredible in and of itself.
Like last week, we’re going to move through a fairly large chunk of Scripture this morning, so we’ll take the passages as we come to them. However, what I want to draw special attention to here is how God’s sovereignty, His providence, is demonstrated so clearly. As Paul faces these incredible circumstances, we see how God had been preparing him for these moments. Your life has been crazy. There’s no other kind. You might be experiencing a lull in the insanity right now, though that’s unlikely, and you might be in the midst of one of the more testing times. Either way, it’s easy to ask: Why is all this happening to me? Though we could talk about the fallenness of man and how sin entering the world has caused devastation, and that would be true, the bigger part of the picture I want us to see this morning, and our gist, is this: God uses real life to prepare us for real ministry.
Let’s pray and dive in!
I. YOUR PAST MISTAKES & HARDSHIPS CAN TESTIFY TO HIS GRACE (22:1-24)
When Paul gets everyone’s attention, he tells them he is going to make his defense. However, this defense is far less about convincing them of his innocence and far more about pointing them to the truth of Jesus! What we have in these first 24 verses is a story we’ve heard before. It’s Paul’s testimony of what Jesus has done in his life. Let’s walk through it.
“1 "Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you."” Notice the respect and camaraderie with which he addresses this mob that is trying to kill him. Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” I’m sure it would have been way easier to make a very different kind of address. In fact, we’ll see that get the best of Paul later, as well ☺️. Nonetheless, his intentions were not self-seeking. “2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet.” This is actually pretty incredible. Yes, it would have been surprising for them to hear this “Gentile-loving maniac” speaking in their heart language, but these people weren’t acting rationally just moments before and had been set on killing him. Clearly, this silence is the work of God!
“And he said: 3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.” He lays out his pedigree. He was born in a Roman city but raised in Jerusalem being taught by one of the most respected teachers of the day. He was zealous for the law...just like them. I don’t think this was meant to be a compliment though. He said he was zealous like them. Their zeal has resulted in them wanting to kill him. He had previously done the same thing to Christians! What changed? Well that’s what he tells us next ☺️.
“6 "As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' 8 And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.” Jesus made the difference. And, man, what if we had this perspective? He had a life-changing encounter with Jesus and immediately wants to know what Jesus wants him to do! He’s then sent to Damascus to find out→
“12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,” Notice how his description of Ananias would have resonated with his audience! “13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'” So, he’s told by a man of God to repent of his sins and come to the Messiah. They’re listening...at least for a few more moments.
“17 "When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' 19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' 21 And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" 22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live." 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this.”
There is a balance here between Paul’s past mistakes and current hardships. When he was a young Christian, Jesus told him to leave Jerusalem because they wouldn’t be able to look past his past at that time, a past that was tainted by persecution and murder. Then, as he traveled around sharing the gospel, he encountered all kinds of persecution himself because of his present faithfulness. Even here, because this crowd is so incredibly racist, as soon as he mentioned the word Gentiles, which traditional rabbi’s taught were only created by God to keep the fires of Hell burning, they erupted and demanded Paul’s life be taken! The tribune then stepped in to try and “help”… by interrogating him with beatings! This flogging was the same kind, by the way, that Jesus endured during the crucifixion.
So all this to say, what? God uses what you’ve gone through. In the moment, it might not make any sense why you’re facing what you’re facing, but there’s a purpose. Look at Paul’s testimony here. It includes terrible mistakes, near-death experiences, and persecutions. If we look over the parts of his story not recorded here, we’ll also see delays (he didn’t immediately start his active ministry until many many years after his conversion; he didn’t always get to go where he wanted to when he wanted to...or how he wanted to...etc), rejection from friends, and personal illnesses. Have you encountered any of these? We could add to the list, right? But in the midst of his list of woes, we also see incredible encounters with Jesus and miraculous stories of souls being saved. Why did Paul face all that he did? For the sake of the gospel being spread. In fact, his testimony continues to be used by God to speak to hearts even today. Don’t allow your past to define you and don’t continue to be stuck in the rut of your sins, but let Jesus come and completely transform you. Then, use that gift He’s given you to point others to His amazing grace! Let that sink in. God has a purpose for what you’re going through right now.
I want to come back to that in the takeaways, but for now, we need to keep trucking along ☺️. Don’t worry, I’ll be shorter on these next two points because they’re connected. ☺️
II. YOUR BACKGROUND CAN MAKE YOU A HOPE-DELIVERY-VESSEL (22:25-29)
Honestly, these next two portions are just kind of neat ☺️. Paul is about to be beaten, but one little detail that “just happened to be true of Paul” changed the whole trajectory of these events.
“25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,” If you’re reading from a KJV, NKJV, or even NASB, that verse might read a little more awkwardly for your modern eyes ☺️. “Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?" 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen." 27 So the tribune came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" And he said, "Yes."” I’m not sure I would have been able to say that without any sarcasm...given that that is exactly what he had been saying ☺️! “28 The tribune answered, "I bought this citizenship for a large sum." Paul said, "But I am a citizen by birth." 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.” Doing this to a Roman citizen was illegal. That’s why they were afraid. Now, this might not seem that big, but it is. We all know Paul was born in a Roman territory. However, I did not even realize this until recently, that wasn’t enough for him to have citizenship. For Paul to have this, it would have had to have been granted to him or somehow secured for a price. For him to be born with it, it meant something pretty significant to the Roman Empire had to have been done by one of his ancestors. These types of citizenships were prestigious and not incredibly common. Now, their reaction should make a little more sense.
Why point this out? God is spreading the gospel to Rome. Who better to send this message than a Roman who had been raised to know the Scripture by heart! God worked all this out! This is incredible! He was prepared to go places other people could not. The same is true in our lives. Your job, your school, your community...etc. These are mission field opportunities God has prepared for you! Again, I want to come back to this in a second, but we’ll keep going for the sake of time!
III. YOUR UPBRINGING CAN PREPARE YOU TO COMMUNICATE TRUTH (22:30-23:10)
I know we’ve covered several longer passages this morning, but I want to look at one more pretty quickly just to make one more observation.
“30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.” This is the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews of which Paul was likely once a part. That’s why he addresses them as “brothers” instead of the more formal greeting that was apparently customary. “1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day." 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?"” This is clearly Paul getting a little lippy. He knows the law as well if not better than all these men. They’re accusing him of breaking it, but proceed to actually break it themselves in their interrogation! Calling them whitewashed tombs should ring a bell as Jesus used the same description in His ministry. The phrase carried the idea of looking good on the outside, but being full of corruption and death inside. Apparently, this high priest had a reputation for being incredibly corrupt, so Paul wasn’t just throwing words around.
“4 Those who stood by said, "Would you revile God's high priest?" 5 And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"” There are two prevailing ideas as to why Paul said this. Either, he actually did not know because he had failing vision, which we see evidence of in his letters, or he was continuing with his sarcastic tone and saying he didn’t know because Ananias’ actions did not reflect what a high priest should be like. The second seems to fit more with the context, but really either could be the case. Now, look at what happened next.
“6 Now when Paul perceived” This means he’s paying attention. “that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial." 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, "We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?" 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.”
What just happened!? He turned them against each other further demonstrating their pettiness! How? Because he understood them. Why? Because he used to be one of them. Don’t misunderstand me, he doesn’t only use this understanding to trip them up. This circumstance was unique because he was being falsely tried, so he demonstrated that. Most of the time we see him using this is when he presents the gospel in the synagogues. He spoke their language, so he was prepared to point them to the truth! God has equipped you with a skill set, too. Are you using it to speak to the people with whom you share common experiences?
Again, we’ll come back to that in just a second, but I know we’re going long here, so I don’t want you to miss this final summative point. No matter which aspect of these circumstances we’re looking at...or which aspect of yours→
IV. JESUS’ HAND IS IN ALL OF IT! (23:11)
I love the encouragement we see Paul getting in 23:11. “11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome."” I don’t know how exactly this happened, but after facing the craziness of these past days, Paul meets with Jesus who speaks to his heart what clearly Paul needed to hear. ‘Paul, I’m not done with you. There is a purpose in all of this.’ The same is true in your life. If you’ve given Him control, He wants to use you and will. Don’t let the daily grind drag you down. Look for the opportunities He’s giving you!
Let’s hit some→
TAKEAWAYS
1. Your past mistakes & hardships CAN testify to His grace. That doesn’t mean they will. You can continue in your sins and wallow in your heartache, and they will remain just that: mistakes and pain. But, you can come to Jesus and receive His forgiveness for your sins. You can fall on His amazing grace and be changed by a personal relationship with Him. Then, your past points to His provision, and your present pain can be viewed in light of His eternal perspective! Are you using your story to point others to Jesus?
2. Your background CAN make you a hope-delivery-vessel. Because of who you are, you can go places not everyone else can as readily go. Your job. Your school. Your community. Your neighborhood. Your nationality. Your friend group. These are all opportunities God has provided you. Are you using them to point people to His hope? They need it.
3. Your upbringing CAN prepare you to communicate truth. We learn how to talk to people because of who we’re around. You might not feel prepared to do much, but you know how to communicate with your “experience group”. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to others, by no means! All I am saying here is God has equipped you with a skill set. If you grew up in this area, you know how people from this area think. The same is true of any situation you’re immersed in (see the list above! Work, school, communities...etc.) You understand how these people talk. You have common experiences with them. Those are all gifts from God so you can communicate His truth to those people. Are you using them?
4. Never forget, Jesus’ hand IS in all of it! Romans 8:28→ “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Amazing grace! He has a purpose and plan for your life...and it’s good! Never ever forget that! Why are you going through this, because God’s bigger picture is beautiful! If ever you doubt that, remember the cross. He faced so much to bring you life!
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