Acts 22 verses 12 to 12
So
just to recap we’re continuing with our journey through Acts and Paul has
returned to Jerusalem even though he has been warned by the Holy Spirit that he
will face a tough time there.
And
sure enough before he’s been there a week, he is spotted by some Jews from Asia
who stir up the whole city against him.
The
angry crowd seize Paul, drag him out of the temple and then set about trying to
kill him. Fortunately he is rescued by some Roman soldiers and he asks to be
allowed to speak to the crowd.
Paul
then shares his testimony with the Jewish crowd, and in this morning’s reading
we get the second part of his story about how he became a Christian.
The
first thing that strikes me about this passage is that even though these people
have just tried to kill him, Paul still cares about them and wants to share the
gospel with them.
Although
the Jews were Paul’s main opponents throughout Acts and frequently stirred up
crowds against him – his heart still beats with compassion for them.
He
says in his letter to the Romans: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in
my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.”
And
we should try and follow Paul’s example and still try and reach out with God’s
love to those who oppose us or antagonise us.
Of
course this isn’t easy to do, but Jesus says; “Love your enemies, bless those
that curse you and do good to those that hate you.”
Perhaps
there are some people causing you grief in your life at the moment. If that’s
the case, try and act lovingly towards them and pray for them.
They
may be surprised at your reaction and who knows, perhaps like Paul - you may
have an opportunity to share your faith with them.
So,
Paul decides to share his testimony with these Jews – the story of how he
became a Christian. Why does he do this? I believe, its because he can
empathise with them. He understands exactly where they are coming from.
And he
wants them to know that he used to be just like them. So he addresses them in
Hebrew and tells them in the first part of Acts chapter 22 that at one time, he
too hated Christians and did his best to imprison and attack those he saw as
enemies of God and of the Jewish law.
As we
have seen before, Paul seeks to establish common ground with his audience. I
know where you’re coming from he says. I used to think in exactly the same way
as you - but I encountered Jesus and now I know differently.
And
this is an important principle for us to take on board. If we are going to
share our faith effectively, we need to establish some common ground with those
we are trying to talk to – so that we relate to them and they can relate to us.
Perhaps
some of you sitting here this morning are really unsure about this whole
Christianity thing.
Well
let me tell you – I was too. I haven’t always been a Christian. Far from it – I
was brought up in a family who only used to go to church at Christmas and
Easter and I knew very little about Christianity.
And when
I was at University I argued with some of the Christians there - and I told
them they’d got it all wrong.
I
believed in a God but personally I quite liked the Bahai faith – which
maintained that all world religions had elements of truth and that it was up to
each individual to select whatever appealed to them from whatever religion they
fancied – a bit like selecting your own spiritual buffet.
This
seemed eminently sensible to me – but that was before I encountered Jesus, and
like Paul, after this encounter, my life and views changed completely.
I now
know that my views about the Bahai faith were very naive and that the
Christians I argued against, were absolutely right. Jesus is, exactly as he
claims to be - the way the truth and the life, and no one can come to the
Father except through him.
So,
Paul establishes common ground and shares his testimony. And of course every Christian
has a testimony. Every Christian has a story to tell about how they came to
know God and about what God has done in their lives.
And
like Paul we need to look for opportunities to share our testimonies. It
doesn’t matter if they‘re dramatic or not. These stories are all important as
they are stories of people coming to know God today.
It’s
important to read through Acts and to see what God did in the lives of the
early Church - but people also need to hear what God is doing in people’s lives
in this generation.
Advertising
agencies understand the importance of people’s testimonies. You can tell people
that a product is wonderful – but people are more convinced if someone tells
them they’ve tried it and it really works.
Our
friends and neighbours and work colleagues need to hear our testimonies. They
need to hear how we came to faith and what God means to us, and what He is
doing in our lives.
They
need to hear that Jesus is alive and real and that just as he did with Paul, he
is still opening people’s eyes to know Him today.
Jesus
opened my eyes to know him overnight in 1986 when I was aged 24. Since my teens
I’d had a real hunger to know God. I remember playing tennis and thinking very
clearly - unless there is a God, life is ultimately completely pointless.
And I
believed there must be a God because I could see order and design in creation.
And I
really wanted to know this God and I particularly wanted to know why he had
created me.
So I
used to pray before I went to bed. I used to say - God I don’t know if you’re
listening but if you are, please reveal yourself to me. I want to know you. And
sometimes I used to throw in the Lord’s Prayer for good measure.
And
one morning I woke up and I knew something had happened to me because I was
full of love – a love that hadn’t been there before.
My
step mother’s family came to lunch that day and while we were eating I felt a
really powerful love for everyone at the table.
Later
that afternoon I picked up my old school bible and started reading some of
Matthew’s gospel and Jesus words just came alive to me.
They
were like living words. It was as if Jesus was speaking to me. I remember being
a bit confused as something had evidently happened to me but I didn’t know
what.
No
doubt Paul was confused after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus
– but fortunately he has Ananias who comes and helps him to make sense of
everything that’s just happened to him.
And
every Christian has people like Ananias – people who have helped them on their
journey towards becoming a Christian, and who have helped them to come to know
God.
I
wonder who your Ananias’s have been? Who were those individuals who helped you
on your journey towards Christ?
I had
two Ananias’s. The first was my great Aunt Hazel or Tay as she was known.
She
was my Grandmother’s sister and she was a nun. Her fiance – a young army
officer - had been killed in the first world war and she’d devoted her life
ever since, to God.
She
spent most of it in Africa - as a missionary in Tanzania - but in later life
she returned to England. And when I was a teenager and she visited, she used to
home in on me and tell me about God.
And
she used to write me letters explaining the gospel to me. At the time I used to
wish she’d divert her attention to my sisters and I wondered why she’d picked
on me.
I
became a Christian after she died, but I’m sure now that her prayers played a
big part in me becoming a Christian. And reading some of her letters – it is
evident that she seemed to know that one day I would become a Christian.
My
other Ananias was an amazing young lady called Karen that I met at a Young Farmers
Barn Dance.
Karen’s
ambition was to be a missionary nurse in Bangladesh and she was quite simply a
lovely human being – full of the love and gentleness and humility of Jesus.
In
the weeks before I became Christian I went out with Karen a few times and she
told me about her life and faith.
On
the night before my conversion I’d been out with Karen. I can’t remember if I
prayed that night, but I’m sure she must have prayed for me.
And
it was Karen that I turned to on the afternoon of the day of my conversion.
I
rang her and explained my symptoms to her and she told me that I’d been born
again and that I’d become a Christian.
She
told me that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus had come to live in my heart
and life and that the love I was feeling was His love.
And
the reason the bible had come alive was because the Holy Spirit was helping me
to understand it.
She
gave me some bible reading notes – Every Day with Jesus – and urged me to find
a Church – and that’s how my Christian life started.
And
of course just as there have been Ananias’s in our lives – people who have
helped us come to know Christ - so we are to be like Ananias to other people.
We
are to come alongside people and pray for them and help them to come to know
Jesus.
Who
can you be an Ananias to I wonder? Perhaps your grandchildren, or a nephew or
niece; perhaps a work colleague or a friend; perhaps a neighbour.
Finally,
following his conversion experience, Jesus sends Paul
out. He says “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
And
this is Jesus’s command to us also – Go! Our conversion isn’t an ending to our
stories – it’s the beginning.
We
don’t search for God and when we’ve eventually found Him - say thank goodness
for that now I can sit down and have a rest.
On the
contrary – His command is that we go out into the world and work to extend his
kingdom. This is the new priority in our
life.
Like
Paul we are to seek to love those around us even if they oppose us. We must try
to establish common ground with those we are reaching out to, so that they can
relate to us.
We
must be prepared to share our testimonies as we have the opportunity. And we
must seek to be like Ananias to other people – to come alongside then and help
them to see God clearly.
In
the name of the living God. Amen.
