February 23, 2014
Scripture:
Scripture:
Let’s look at the end of Ephesians 3. We have here the second prayer of the apostle in the epistle. Read vv. 17b - 19. We had a brother read from John where it says, “Greater love has no man…” The word ‘greater’ usually has to do with size or dimensions. Then another brother gave out hymn 88 where it says, “O blessed Saviour, is Thy love so great, so full, so free?” In business, measurements are very important, but how do you measure love? Yet it says, “greater love has no man.” His love exceeds understanding and the breadth, length, height and depth, pass knowledge. “Love that was stronger than death, flow out without limit and free”. Love without comprehension.
Hymn 349 – News for little Children
Prayer
We’re continuing with the Kings of Judah; right now we are at King Josiah. Josiah was known for doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. We left off last time just when Josiah had read the book of the Lord.
2 Chronicle 34:21-33
After reading the book of the Lord, Josiah sent men to the prophet, since he thought that something bad would come upon Judah for not following the ways of the Lord. Indeed, punishment was going to come to Judah; but since Josiah humbled himself when he heard the word of the Lord, it was not going to come during his reign. A tender heart is soft and it can absorb truths from the Bible, but a hard heart, when it hears the word of the Lord, doesn’t change. Josiah had a tender heart and was open to God’s word. The Bible has several mentions of hearts. In Proverbs we get “keep thy heart with all diligence.” The heart is where decisions are made. The Bible is God’s word and it will guide us in the way we should go.
Josiah sought the Lord with all his heart. After he heard the word of God, he wanted others to hear it too. I trust that we can remember to have a soft heart and take in truths from God’s word.
Acts 9:10-22
Last week we looked at Saul, who was very ardent—as a Jew—to defend his religion. He persecuted the Church, thinking that it was the right thing to do. God set Saul’s religion aside, though, because He had something new for him. Saul’s vision on the Damascus Road blinded him for three days, and he didn’t eat or drink during that time. He might have been thinking of how wrong he had been; or of those that he had killed, like Stephen. From his vision, he had learned that he had been fighting against the Lord he thought he was serving, and that revelation had the most profound affect on him.
We now switch scenes, and find ourselves with a mostly-unknown saint named Ananias. He comes on the scene, and goes off it very quickly. It’s amazing how the Lord can raise up common saints, like us, for profound use. Ananias had a conversation with the Lord, in which the Lord gave him work to do, and told him that Saul was having simultaneous visions. Ananias told the Lord what he thought about the situation. We can have intimate talks like this with the Lord about the details of our lives, too.
The Lord told Ananias to go to Saul. He was orchestrating everything, and was going to use Saul instrumentally in setting up assemblies. Ananias was told what street and house to go to, and that Saul had been having visions of him coming and healing his eyes. This would have been welcome to Saul, not so much to Ananias.
What we know is that we have a new Saul. He was a totally new creature. Already he was learning about Christians and the truth of the one Body—that all of us Christians are a part of—with our Head in Heaven. The vision on the road—which he couldn’t have seen with his natural eyes—had changed him. He had heard that Jesus had died; but he found Him alive, well, and in Heaven.
Saul would have seen Christ sitting on the right hand of the Father, not standing as Stephen did. Jesus was no longer waiting for the Jews to accept Him as Messiah so that He could come and set up the Kingdom. That opportunity had passed, and He sat down at His Father’s side.
Saul was the living fear of Christians at this time. Ananias had heard of what he had done, and Paul himself told the Galatians: “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.”(Galatians 1:13). In history you read of those who had to hide from the persecuting Papists, living in fear. Ananias knew the reputation of this man, and must have wondered why he was praying.
The Lord told Ananias to go anyway, because he had chosen Saul as a vessel. This must have brought Ananias relief. God had a plan, a purpose, a mission, for Saul. Vessels are made by potters with a purpose in mind. They are to carry and dispense material. We are all vessels, and should have something to dispense to those around us.
The Lord told Ananias that Saul would be sent to the Gentiles, kings, and the Children of Israel. His life wouldn’t be easy, and God would show him what he would have to suffer. Saul had made others suffer, and he would suffer, too; which he did gladly, for the sake of the Gospel, as we’ll see later in Acts.
So Ananias went to Saul, and did something that he probably never imagined doing. He found him, laid his hands on him, and said, “Brother Saul.” Saul was now a brother in Christ! Ananias didn’t reprimand him for his past wrongs, but blessed him for the future.
This little-known brother was present to start the chiefest of the apostles on his journey. He told Saul that the Jesus Who he had seen on the road had sent him to give back his sight, and to give him the Holy Spirit. Before, Ananias was hiding in fear of this man. Now it seems that they embrace as brothers.
Saul rose, was baptized, ate, and straightway started to preach Christ. Saul was always all-out for whatever side he was on, and he switched teams here. Vv21-22. This was an important transition. It took a vision to bring Saul down, and it took Ananias to raise him back up. Later he told the Galatians that he “profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers,” and told the Romans that the Jews had, “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” He was one of those Jews. His zeal needed knowledge, and now he had that knowledge, with a new zeal for the Lord.
Hymn 221 – I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice
Prayer