Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision

By Knowing God is present just when you need Him (Part 1) 08/30/09

Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging our Vision

Title: : ‘By Knowing God is present just when you need Him (Pt1)’     Text: Acts 22:30-23:35

Introduction: Author and lecturer, Leo Buscaglia, tells this story about his mother and their “misery dinner.” It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm’s funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy food for a sumptuous feast. Other members of the family scolded her for it. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." (Christopher News Notes, August, 1993)

 

Have you ever wondered why God waits to send His encouragement to us, when situations appear to be at their worst?

The phrase ‘The invisible Hand’ is a metaphor coined by economist Adam Smith relating to how we unknowingly add in a  positive way to society when we prosper individually. (Bryon Harvey)

Christians have an altogether different understanding of ‘The Invisible Hand’ don’t we? We believe that our lives are guided by ‘The Invisible Hand of God.’ In theological terms this refers to God’s sovereignty, to His providential care in the lives of His children.

As we have been going through the Book of Acts it’s easy to get caught up in the details of the lives of the original disciples of Jesus, and the birth and growth of the Church...But if we do, we’ll miss the deeper, more important story...the invisible hand of Almighty God working behind the scenes to accomplish His purposes.

We need to remember that God works through the good....and the bad, even through sinful choices, to accomplish His will.

This should be a comfort to us. Because it means:

·       God is not distant

·       God is not passive

·       God is not unconcerned with the daily events of our lives.

What this means is that as our loving Heavenly Father, He actively and purposefully guides the daily events of our lives, often behind the scenes, without robbing us of the responsibility of making right choices.

Have you ever wondered why God waits to send His encouragement to us, when situations appear to be at their worst? It’s because

·       God’s timing is always best,

·       His desires for us are always good,

·       His grace supplied to us is always sufficient

·       His forgiveness for our sin is always available

·       and His love for us is always unconditional.

Some of you are in the midst of a ‘worst time.’ For others it may be just around the corner...But, we all need to know...we all need to be reminded of that:

·       God’s timing is always best,

·       His desires for us are always good,

·       His grace supplied to us is always sufficient

·       His forgiveness for our sin is always available

·       and His love for us is always unconditional.

We need to be reminded of that and we need to believe it... The Apostle Paul was no different.

Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 22:30 (pg. 851 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it’s there we’ll find we enlarge our vision of God by knowing God is present, just when you need Him.

I. Acts 22:30-23:10    In the midst of confusion

Read: Acts 22:30-23:10

Paul is brought before his peeps...the people he used to hang out with...the Sanhedrin, and in particular the Pharisees, of which he was once a well respected member.

Paul has his opportunity to speak the Good News of Jesus Christ to his former friends and co-workers...but he fails...miserably. Not only that, he shouts out in anger about being unlawfully hit.

‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!’

While this was true...Paul responded in anger...he sinned and he knew it. He tried to make it right but the damage was already done.

We often wonder what God will do when we sin, when we make lapses in judgment or fail in some terrible way. Will God still use us? The answer?

·       God can do, what God pleases, when God pleases, as God pleases, with whom God pleases, for as long as God pleases.

And His will can never be frustrated by our disobedience and sin. Because if it were, God wouldn’t get much done.

As you know, we all sin, in many ways and more often then we would want to admit.

How do you know you are not beyond usefulness to God? How do you know that your sin hasn’t disqualified you?

·       Take your hand, place it in front of your mouth. Breathe against your hand. Feel anything? Then your sin has not disqualified you!

God is giving you yet another chance...even when we are unfaithful, Scripture says, He remains faithful. God didn’t write Paul off because of his hasty remark and he won’t write you off because of your sin. Here is how I know that.

Notice when Paul identifies himself as a Pharisee and said that he was on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead, the other Pharisees in the crowd start defending Paul. In fact they claim he’s innocent of all charges and shouldn’t even be on trial.

·       Anyone see the invisible hand of God here?

Confusion and a violent dispute erupts between the Pharisee and the Sadducees and the Roman commander once again comes to Paul’s rescue by removing him before anything bad could happen to Paul.

·       Anyone see the invisible hand of God here?

Can I ask you how big is your God? Let me ask it a different way: What can’t God do, according to you? Yes, there are some things He can’t do: He can’t lie; He can’t sin; He can’t deny His fundamental nature or character. But beyond that, what in your mind can’t God do?

·       Can your God use somebody who doesn’t fit your idea of the kind of person God can use?

·       Can your God do something that you’ve never seen before?

·       Can your God bring something beautiful out of something awful?

·       Can your God, in His perfect timing, comfort and lead you out of your current burden?

How big is your God? Paul’s God was big enough to save him from certain death...not once, but many times.

Transition: Paul’s God met Paul in his time of need, even when it seemed hopeless...just as He always does.

II. Acts 23:11         In the midst of fear

Read: Acts 23:11

Paul was safe...but I don’t think he was happy. He had the opportunity to preach to the Sanhedrin...and it blew up in his face. I can imagine Paul thinking:

·       When is this all going to end?

·       Why is my innocence not obvious to everyone?

·       Why am I not free to go about the ministry God gave me?

·       Was I to blame for my circumstances? After all, I had made all the decisions which brought me to this place.

Paul must have been discouraged, defeated, and utterly humiliated as he sat in his cell, thinking about his life. All his dreams of his fellow Jews coming to faith in Jesus come crashing down. It was a low point for Paul, perhaps the lowest point since he had come to faith in Jesus.

And this, is always God’s hour. God often waits for us to arrive at the place of hopelessness. Then, just when we need Him, Jesus reveals Himself to us, just as He did to Paul.

And notice there is not one word of rebuke from Jesus. We would have said

·       ‘Paul, it’s your own fault, you blew up at the High Priest and now you are suffering the consequences.’

·       Or ‘Paul, I think you need to take an anger management class.’

·       At the very least we would have said ‘Paul, you should have kept your mouth shut!’

But instead of a rebuke, Jesus encourages him. If I can paraphrase what Jesus says it would go something like this:

·       ‘Cheer up Paul. Things are not nearly as bad as they appear to be at the moment. You’ve fulfilled your assignment of proclaiming the Good News to the Jews in Jerusalem, now in the same way, you are about to testify of me to the Gentiles in Rome.’

I believe the presence and words of Jesus to Paul in verse 11 is the key to the entire chapter. Jesus assured Paul that he would take the Gospel to Rome...the rest of the Book of Acts describes just how God worked to bring that about.

Remember how Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," (Matt 5:3). In other words, happy or blessed are you

·       when you arrive at utter bankruptcy,

·       when you do not have any resources left,

·       when you have come to the end of yourself and are ready to quit.

·       When you do not know what else to do.

I have been there, have you? I have said to God, “Lord, I’m done! I can't make it. I've tried. I've done everything I know how, and I just can't make it. I'm done.”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the Lord was standing there saying, “Great! That's just where I wanted you to come, just what I've been waiting to hear from you. Now it's my time.” That is what happens here with Paul.

Jesus tells him:‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so  you must also testify in Rome.’

Do you know what Jesus was telling Paul? Not only THAT he would be sharing the Gospel in Rome to the Gentiles just like he had in Jerusalem to the Jews...BUT...it would be in the same manner...as a prisoner, in chains, bound, with limited freedom and resources.

·       Folks...when we pray, we often ask God to remove us from our difficult circumstances, right? When often He wants to meet us right in the midst of the difficult circumstances. Just like Jesus met Paul in his cold, dark prison cell.

·       We often pray for the easiest circumstances to do what we believe God is calling us to do, right? But sometimes, God wants us to serve Him in the midst of difficult circumstances ...Just like he did with Paul by keeping him confined, bound in chains, as he presented the Gospel to the Gentiles in Rome.

Conclusion

You might think that things in your life are bad right now, but truth is, you may not even know the half of it!  But Jesus knows, and He still says to you, ‘Take courage’ ‘Be of good cheer.’

Why?  Not because everything’s ok; but because God is still on His throne, and He still keeps His promises:

Read: Romans 8:28 ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’

Read: Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’

Anyone can be of good cheer when all is well; but the Christian can be of good cheer when everything is crashing down all around him or her, because they know that God is still in control.

We enlarge our vision of God by knowing God is present, just when we need Him.