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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Acts 9:15-16
“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My Name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My Name.’”
God wins.
This is a fantastic incident – one of the most significant encounters in all Scripture.
We ‘met’ Saul yesterday, and today he is about to change dramatically.
In Acts 9:1-31, Luke highlights two very important people. Saul and Ananias. Saul was out on his way to destroy as many Christians as possible – to end this “The Way” heresy once and for all.
He had already had success in Jerusalem, and so he turned his attention to Damascus. He was full of hatred and determination to destroy all vestiges of this new faith. He was a conscientious and sincere man. He wanted only to ‘protect’ Judaism from heresy, and he obviously wasn’t going to listen to Gamaliel’s advice even though he was one of his ‘disciples’ (see Acts 22:3-4).
He wasn’t going to ‘let them be’ – he was going to exterminate them. But as Gamaliel had warned – he found out that he was actually fighting God Himself.
So it was that as Saul was on his way to Damascus, Jesus met him. God knows us by name. He knows us inside out and calls us by our names. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” (9:4) Not – Why are you persecuting the ‘Followers of the Way’? – But “Why do you persecute ME?” WE are God’s ambassadors – we are the people of God – we are the Body of Christ on earth. Awesome, isn’t it? (See 2 Corinthians 5:20 & 1 Corinthians 12:27.)
Wow, what a question. Why did Jesus ‘call’ him rather than just ‘zap’ him, as I would have done? Because God is Sovereign - He is merciful, full of grace and knew Saul’s heart. God actually ‘calls’ us all in one way or another so that we might repent and become part of His family.
Saul was blinded by the ‘Light’ and asked, “Who are you, Lord?” He had met and recognised ‘more than his match’. Jesus replied, “Go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (9:6).
The spotlight then turned on to a man called Ananias. Who? Ananias (no, not the one in Chapter 5 – of ‘Ananias and Sapphira’ fame). This one was a little known, little heard of man but nevertheless God’s man; in God’s plan, in God’s place, in God’s time. God called him by name, too.
I find it interesting that God called Samuel three times before he found out who He was (1 Samuel 3) He called Saul twice, but Ananias just had to hear his name once. How about you? How many times do you have to be called before you recognise and listen to God’s voice?
The Lord told him to go and place his hands on Saul and prophesy over him. Ananias was an amazing man. He was a disciple living in Damascus. Had he been driven out of Jerusalem by the persecution or had he believed through someone coming and sharing the ‘Good News’ with him? Whatever happened, he was fully aware of Saul of Tarsus and what he was up to and so told the Lord all he knew and believed to be the truth. The Lord replied that He knew all that but things were about to be radically changed.
Without demur Ananias accepted what the Lord said, went to Saul and did everything that the Lord instructed him to do. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He was baptised in water and had a meal. The first in 3 days.
Ananias was for me an amazing man. He knew how dangerous Saul was but in total dependency on God, he risked going ‘into the lion’s den’ on the strength of a vision. He was a true ‘risk-taker’. (And subsequently, that ‘Saul’ became the greater ‘Paul’.)
I like to imagine the end of time. There we are in Heaven’s great amphitheatre. The expectation rises as we hear that the great Apostle Paul is coming. The excitement rises and at last the great man appears amidst thunderous applause. But Paul raises his hands to restrict the accolades. “Wait, wait” he cries – “not for me but …” and he points back to the entrance. In walks an ‘unknown’ man. Paul shouts – “Welcome Ananias!”
You see, without Ananias we would never have had Paul.
Listen – maybe God wants you to be an Ananias to someone. If so, “Go, and find your Paul.”
Be a ‘risk-taker’ – it will help change the world for the better.
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