JESUS, You want me to do what?

I want to examine an astounding event in an average Christian's life in Acts 9:1-19.  I wonder if we can hear this, THERE ARE NO AVERAGE, MEDIOCRE, UNIMPORTANT CHRISTIANS!!!  In this account we find how the amazing Apostle Paul got his start.  The ministry of this spiritual giant was nothing short of earth shattering.  Yet Paul would have easily won the 'Least Likely To Become Anybody Useful' award in his day.

Paul was an avowed enemy of the Lord and His Gospel.  He held the coats of those who stoned Steven.  After all, you can't effectively throw rocks to kill someone if you are wearing too much clothing.  He smiled at what he determined to be the justice of God on such an amazing martyr.  Paul then acquired authority to travel to other cities to arrest, round up, and transport back to Jerusalem, all those evil misguided Christians so they could also be jailed or executed or both.  Acts 9:1 says that Paul was breathing threats & murder.  This Paul guy is not showing much promise.  He is the kind of angry nut case I would want to avoid.  I shake my head in wide eyed wonder to think of how Jesus could ever use such a person or why HE would even want to.  

But God!!!   Man that has happened to me 10,000 times over my Christian life and I don't ever want to stop being surprised.  Larnel Harris sang in one of his songs a great line.  Of Jesus he sings, "He is more than amazing."  How true!  But God had other ideas for Paul.  Paul's plans were to rid the earth of these upstart Christians who believed that trusting in Christ was sufficient to make one righteous rather than carefully keeping the Old Testament religious code that Paul had been so adept at.  Jesus intervened in early Acts 9 & Paul was radically saved.  Paul saw & heard from the very Jesus who had died for his sins.  Paul was blinded by the great light he saw and was led into the city by the hand - the Sanhedrin's 'strong man' suddenly helpless & harmless.  His fangs & claws removed, Paul waits for something; more instructions, another round of discipline, more harsh realities, additional rude awakenings from God.  What must have been his thoughts.  Perhaps he thought, I was convinced I was so right, but really, I was so wrong.  What was I thinking?  I was actually opposed to the very living God I so aggressively thought I was serving!  What am I to do?"  

Paul waited!  HE waited for 3 days & NEITHER ATE NOR DRANK!  Ever tried that?  Not easy let me tell you.  Not eating for 3 days is doable - hard but doable!  Not drinking anything for 3 days is really tough.  What kind of desperation drove Paul to this?  The kind that realized that his entire life was heading in completely the wrong direction!  Now what?!  He had only ONE THING to go on.  The God who stopped him in his tracks had given him a single directive, "rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do."  So he waits & fasts.  No TV, no cell phone (or land line for that matter), no facebook, no computer, no radio, no CD's, no i-pod, no scenic drive, no career to emmerse oneself in, no distrations of any kind.  Just the thought that he had been totally wrong about everything.  How would you be doing?  I'd be screaming and begging God for something - I don't know what.

Now the story turns really strange.  God speaks to Ananias to go visit Paul and minister to him.  This average disciple (remember, there are no mundane, average, unimportant disciples) is to declare Jesus to him, bring a miraculous healing, and then is to proclaim the promise of the Spirit filled life to Paul (vs.11-12, 17-18).  The strange thing is that Ananias knows of Paul.  He knows that Paul is a PROFOUND ENEMY of Jesus & all Christians.  He knows that ministering to Paul is extremely dangerous since Paul was throwing people in jail for loving & believing in the Lord (vs.13-14)!  But God has commanded Ananias & God won't change His mind.  God declares to this average Christian (there are no average, mundane Christians) His intention of how HE will use Paul for is Gospel purposes!  Ananias believes & obeys.  I know this because he does what Jesus has commanded which is always the proof of faith!

In his wildest dreams, Ananias could not have imagined that Paul would become the mighty apostle.  He could never have imagined that the world would be turned upside down by this chosen instrument (vs.15).  Ananias could never have imagined that Paul would write 25% of the New Testament = the unmoving, ever resilient, and authentic Word of God that will last forever.  He could not have ever imagined that Paul would save & deliver the Gospel of good news to the Gentile world thus becoming arguably the most effective Christian who has ever lived.  On he went, into the dangerous world God's self-righteous enemy.  Sooner or later, you are going to find that there is NO ENEMY as fierce as the self-rightous one, the one who is convinced they are right & are doing God service to eliminate you and/or your influence in this world. Yet, as powerful & dangerous as that enemy is, they are simply no match for our Lord! 

God is simply not stopped by our wrath against Him.  He is so big that His sworn enemies are NO THREAT to him!  In fact, though He could judge them & wipe them out with a single thought, yet He pursues them, turns their life on a dime, brings His mercy & deliverance, & wins them over to Himself without breaking a sweat.  And not only that, but He uses a mediocre & mundane Christian (there are no mundane Christians) to be the 'spear point' of His planned rescue of Paul.  What!  It does not even phase the Lord!  It bothers Ananias!  Can you hear his prayer?  "Lord, are you sure you want me to minister to Paul (who was Saul at the time)?  You know he is our sworn enemy & very dangerous."  That God wants Paul is enough & the mediocre Christian (there are no mediocre Christians) goes & obeys.

Out of this, the mighty apostle is born & set on a world changing coarse!  The Moral of the story: do not sell anyone short.  Those who are terrible sinners today, may turn tomorrow!  We must believe that the people that God places by His Providence in our path are the very ones HE will change.  We must be open to this.  There are no people too far gone.  God is so big that He can bring even His enemies into mercy & grace, using them.  Don't sell yourself short either.  God can & will use anyone who will respond to him.  The person you have considered sharing your faith with looks highly unlikely - I know!  But that person could be a chosen instrument in the hand of God!  And God will use small, mundane, average, unimportant Christians (there are no unimportant Christians) to shake the world.

Get up my friends, get up!  That hard case is within the grasp of the Lord.  He/she is not beyond help, beyond grace, beyond mercy.  That hard hearted person is the exact one God has His sites on.  From now on we should call Ananias, 'Ananias the mighty' - the great hero of Acts.  He ignited Paul on his great missionary life!  He brought healing & the power of the infilling of the Holy Spirit to the mighty apostle.  Praise God for such average Christians (there are no average Christians).  Take courage my friends, there are exploits for you to do!  God will use you to win the 'hard cases'.  Truly, there are so many of them, the Kingdom will need all the average, mundane, mighty mites it can muster!  "Go your way, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine..."   AND SO ARE YOU!!!!!!!!