Feast: Chosen Instruments of God

#FT22-06a
Ted E. Bowling
Given 15-Oct-22; 40 minutes

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We have heard this a few times. Brethren, why are you here? Well, many of us heard countless times that it is because it is the Feast; we are required to be here. We are here to learn, to be taught. We have heard this countless times over the years. Mark said it earlier this week, and then Craig just said it. My purpose for standing here today is that we are here because we are chosen by God before the world was formed. Before the creation was even started, He chose us.

I am going to start in Deuteronomy 7.

Deuteronomy 7:6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”

Each one of you was individually chosen by God. And, He has a specific purpose for each and every one of you.

Now, you did not volunteer to be here. You were chosen through His great love and mercy toward us. How much He loves us is tremendous.

In Ephesians 1:4 that is exactly what Paul says. In His great love for each of us, He has chosen us to be holy and blameless in His presence. And I used the apostle Paul specifically because he is going to be the focus in this sermon today. He spoke with great emotion throughout his epistles regarding our calling and the gifts that God has given to us, and how we are to develop those gifts that we received to serve Him, and to bring glory to Him.

Now I know there are many that do not think very much of themselves, and think, “How could God use a person like me?” Well, first of all, you are putting limits on God. He has the ability to form you, help you to grow spiritually, so that you may fulfill His purpose. You know this, that God does not make mistakes. There is no mistake for you being in this room today. That is His purpose.

Now in the first century there were many that questioned God as well regarding the people that He chose; and they would say, “Why did You choose that man?”

Now, would you be surprised if I was saying one of those men was the apostle Paul? Are you surprised? Well, the first century church was surprised when Saul of Tarsus was chosen by God. In fact, many did not even believe that was true. Even the apostles in Jerusalem did not believe it. You might write down Acts 9:26 and see for yourself.

Why was this so? Because before you see Paul the apostle, he was Saul the persecutor. Saul of Tarsus was perhaps the most feared man at that time. He was famous, but famous for bad reasons. He was known as a zealot, and a brutal persecutor. He was a self-confident Pharisee, thoroughly trained in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. He was a Jew, born in Tarsus, but he was also a Roman citizen. Paul was convinced that he was chosen by God to persecute the church, and Jesus Christ, and all His followers. See? He thought he was doing God's will, all the while he was destroying it.

So I am going to look at Paul today; beginning with the account of Saul of Tarsus. The second man in this story that we are going to cover today is Ananias the disciple. These men could not be more different, yet both were instruments of God.

Turn to Acts 8 to get this started. At the end of chapter 7, we saw that Stephen had just been stoned.

Acts 8:1-3 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Now drop down to chapter 9, and we are going to see that Saul’s attitude and mindset has not changed.

Acts 9:1-2 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

He is breathing murderous threats against the disciples of God to the point of hunting them down and throwing them in prison. Think of this: Saul was willing to travel 130 miles from Jerusalem to Damascus just to hunt down the followers of Jesus Christ. That is determination!

But as we will also see right on that road to Damascus, Jesus stopped him cold in his tracks.

Acts 9:3-5 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."

Now, I find interesting this word goads. I have been looking in to it. A goad was like a spear, and it was used by farmers to get stubborn goats or oxen into motion. And occasionally the beast would actually kick back at the spear. And when it would do so, it would literally injure its legs, causing great pain, maybe even bleeding. It is interesting that Christ is saying, Saul, why are you creating pain for yourself?

Acts 9:6-9 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. [he became blind] But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

I find it interesting that when he came face to face with Jesus Christ, he is blinded. It reminds me of the verse there in the first chapter of Revelation in verse 16 where it talks about how the countenance of Jesus Christ shines so strongly. I believe it is some of that same light of his purity that literally blinded him that day.

Acts 9:10-19 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight."

Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."

And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

So here we are introduced to Ananias. The Scriptures only call him a disciple. The word disciple means pupil or learner. So we really do not know if he held any position whatsoever. The Scriptures do not tell us. The scripture does tell us in verse 15 that Paul was a chosen instrument, but I want to say also here that Ananias is also a chosen instrument, because he was sent to put Paul on the right path. He was used in a great way.

Both of these men are instruments of God. One was to be used in a great major way throughout that whole time, even to us today; Ananias was used, as far as we know, for one specific duty.

We do not know much about Ananias, but I can appreciate his response, because we can see the human side of Ananias. Ananias’ first reaction was one of weakness. He did not have unwavering trust in God. As a matter of fact, I think he reminds us of me; maybe of you too? He began this sentence with uncertainty and confusion. “Lord, I have heard of this man.”

Well, he knew who the man was. The following verses says this man came from Jerusalem to actually destroy the church. He knew that Saul had traveled that 130 miles all the way from Jerusalem just to arrest them or even to kill them. I can only imagine how terrified and nervous and scared that group of folks was in Damascus of all they had heard about him as they waited for him to arrive.

Now we talk about his wavering faith, and in a lot of my readings Ananias is put down for this quite a bit. But can we put ourselves in Ananias’ shoes just for a few minutes. I would like to put this in modern terms, so we can maybe have a little bit better understanding of his situation.

Suppose you were a Jew living in World War II Nazi Germany. You knew that you had a pretty good, clear understanding of what was happening there. And it is a history that we will never forget. I want to reread Acts 8:3, but I am going to change it to this modern terms: “that the SS and Gestapo ravaged the Jews, and are into every house, and dragging men and women out. He delivered them up to the prisons.” Now, it fits, although we do know that they went far beyond that.

Now, you are a Jew hiding in Nazi Germany, knowing that your fellow Jews are being killed, tortured, and thrown into prisons. And then God tells you, “I want you to go see the head SS officer.” How would you react? I think our first reaction would be much like Ananias’. I think the Lord saw that because He understood how overwhelming this was. When you put this in modern terms, it is overwhelming.

And my question to you right now is: How would your faith stand up in this situation? The day may come that you may well be tested in the very same way, in ways that you may not be able to imagine. What will be your response?

Again, that is why we are here. That is why we sit in these services. That is why we take in the word through the sermonettes, the sermons, even [this year’s] Bible readings. I want to tell you something: They have been inspiring; it just draws you closer and closer to God; those words in Deuteronomy, it has been a terrific addition this year. I greatly appreciate it. All you readers, it has been wonderful!

We are here because our loving God wants us to be prepared for that day when calamity will come on us that we cannot even imagine. And it is going to come.

Also, He wants us to be prepared to serve each other, to strengthen each other, and hold them up. That is why we are called.

God allowed the human side of Ananias to come out, and he did question God. But you know one of things I really appreciate was the response that Jesus gave, because it really shows the love and compassion that our God has for us.

Jesus did not rebuke Ananias. Instead, He simply told him that Paul was a chosen instrument, and then He actually shared His plan with Ananias. I find that fascinating. Why did He do that? I believe that He did that because He did not want to put more on Ananias than he could bear. And by sharing His plan, He helped Ananias overcome his fear, and helped him do something that would have been very hard to do.

And so when Ananias entered the house where Saul was waiting, without hesitation, he comes and placed his hands on Saul, and the first words out of his mouth were: “Brother Saul . . .”

Now, remember Saul had been there for three days, blind, unable to see, and also unable to anticipate what was going to come next. But here we see the character of Ananias come through. We can see this was a man of empathy, love, and compassion. We can see that God chose the right man for this task.

Here we have two men, totally different personalities, but both being used by our great God, both instruments in our Father's hands.

One man He chose to carry the gospel throughout the world. The other was chosen for this one specific task. Now we do not know what else Ananias did, but regardless of the responsibilities that they were given, both were chosen instruments ordained by God.

Brethren, so are you—all of you have been ordained by God. Yes, just as a deacon, an elder, pastor, or even an apostle, you were also ordained for a purpose. The word, ordain, means to establish; institute; to set apart for an office; to set apart to a certain special condition; to fulfill a certain provincial purpose, especially in Bible usage.

Several years ago, John Ritenbaugh explained the word ordination. He made it very easy to understand. So, I want to read this for you today. I am going to quote John: He said:

Ordination is actually one of the oldest doctrines in all the Bible. You know it by the “laying on of hands” ceremony that is usually given; it is used in a wide variety of reasons in the Bible. You may recall Jacob ordained Ephraim and Manasseh when he placed his name on them. This was a typical ordination; he placed his name on them. It is a visible appointment announced in this manner by symbolic means to others that this person is being set aside for some reason; for an office; but always to use that office in that person's life to glorify God in some manner.

Everyone who is baptized and has had hands laid on them has been ordained, and you have been put into the church, that you have an office, and for that reason you are to bring glory to God. Everyone here that has had hands laid on them has been ordained by God. All of you, every one of you is a chosen instrument in God's hands. Why? It is so that we may bring glory to God!

Now, we do not always know the responsibilities that we are going to be given, but it is always important in how we conduct our lives. How you conduct your lives is going to inspire and strengthen your family, your coworkers, your friends. The list is endless.

Again, you do not have to have a specific office within the church, but you all have service to do to the brethren, and almost everyone you know. Nothing happens in our lives by accident, or by chance. Everything we do, everything that happens to us is according to our God's will. His Holy Spirit through faith will unify us in our service to Him, and also bring glory to the Father. Regardless how great or small part you will play, it is a part of God's plan.

Ananias had no idea how God would use him. And He used him here in a great way. God chose him. God used Ananias to serve Paul, to show him love, even though he was maybe one of the greatest enemies of the church at that time. He did not return evil for evil. But instead, he treated him like a brother from the day he met him. We also see that Paul tarried several days there with them. No doubt that Ananias worked with him.

Have you ever thought of Paul as a new convert? A babe in the church? He was! And it was most likely Ananias that worked with him.

Yes, Ananias pretty much fades into the background after this. We do not hear again from him at all throughout the book of Acts. The only time that he is mentioned again is in Acts 22, where Paul is recounting the experience, and he calls him a devout man. We see how Paul begins his ministry.

Now, why is he not called the apostle Saul? Have you ever thought about that? Well, I can tell you that there is no biblical evidence that Christ changed his name. In fact, while they are on the road in Acts 9, Christ called him Saul. But the first time that we see a name change is in Acts 13:9 where it says, “But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him.” I think it was probably Paul himself who changed his name. In fact, throughout the epistles, he says, “I, Paul.” Or it says, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.” Maybe he wanted to rid himself of that negative reputation of that name, Saul the Persecutor.

You know the name Saul is a very prominent name in Israel. The first human king of Israel was named Saul, and his name meant, “desired.” Now David Grabbe reminded me of something a few days ago, that King Saul went from a very humble man to a man filled with pride and self-worth. And then here, we see Paul goes from a self-centered man to a man of service and humility.

One more thing: The name Paul means, “little” or “small.” This might be Paul’s own way of humbling himself; feeling that it really fits him more than the name Saul. And maybe in a very small way, we see him showing humility. Throughout the epistles we see Paul drained of that pride. We see through his words the humility that he has for Jesus Christ.

I want to read a few of those verses:

I Corinthians 15:9-11 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

I Corinthians 1:27-28 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.

You see, Paul is saying, “All those years I thought it was the elite, the noble, the mighty, the skilled, that was what was important to God.” He said, I was wrong. When his scales fell from his eyes, he was able to see himself as he was: foolish, base, despised, and nothing. It actually reminds me of Job in Job 42, when he perceived God as He was. He said, “I abhor myself.”

Here, in these two verses (I Corinthians), three times it said, “God has chosen,” “God has chosen,” “God has chosen.” God deliberately chose the foolish, the base, despised, and the nothing.

I think that is why I am here…I probably should not have said that, but that is how you feel, sometimes…You feel, “How can God use people like us?”

Paul is also saying that when he was on that road to Damascus, “I didn’t volunteer for this job. I was chosen for it because God had a purpose.” As we have seen in his letters, we can hear his love for God; we can hear the gratitude he has for God's forgiveness, especially for all the evil deeds that he had committed; and that thankfulness and forgiveness, and grace that God had bestowed upon him.

We will read just a few more verses:

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

I am trying to use some of these different books/epistles that he wrote because he sprinkled this idea all through those letters.

Colossians 1:21-22 And you [I think he is also thinking of himself], who once were alienated and enemies in your [my] mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you [and me] holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

Was Paul looking for Christ to be saved? No of course not. It was Christ that found him.

There is no reason to believe that he was not convinced 100% that he was doing the right thing until God turned him around. This man was a relentless zealot to carry those duties out, but it was God that turned him around. Brethren, it is God that turns us around too.

Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

It is just amazing the emotion that I see that comes through these verses now, as I think about Paul's life, how he began and how far God brought him.

Romans 6:12-13 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Paul is saying, “I was a man who was the enemy of God, a man of wrath, a man of evil; hostile. And it is only by the grace of God that I am here.”

Please turn to II Timothy 2.

Paul had placed Timothy in charge of the church at Ephesus. He gave him instructions on how to fight the spiritual warfare that he would encounter. Now, II Timothy is the last letter that Paul wrote. When he wrote this letter, he was sitting in a prison in Rome awaiting execution. This is some 30 years after that miraculous day on that Damascus road.

I have to tell you; II Timothy has become one of my favorite books of the Bible. If I had the time, I would love to read you the whole thing. It is inspiring. It is emotional. To me it is different than anything else that Paul wrote because he saw Timothy as a son, and he wanted him to grow, and not experience all the things that he had done. He did not want to see him make the same mistakes.

And so, in his last letter here, he is reaching out to him with his whole heart. I cannot read the whole thing, but I am just going to read a couple verses here, because this is significant to what we are talking about today.

II Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

I find it interesting that he uses the term, “great house.” Paul is talking about God's house, the church, and that in God's church there are both men of honor and dishonor. I think it is that all vessels begin as vessels of dishonor. That is how we start. It is how hard we work to come to the glory of God, to His righteousness, to His understanding. That is what God is looking for in us.

Again, most of us will never be ministers, elders, or deacons, but every one of you has a position in the church, every one of you has a part in the Body of God. You have been ordained, and you are important to Him. So what type of vessel are you going to be?

Paul instructs Timothy, this minister of God, “You must work if you want to be a useful tool.” He is talking to a minister here. That is the part I find fascinating. Paul understood how difficult this walk is.

II Timothy 2:22 …but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Pursue means to seek out eagerly; earnestly endeavor to acquire. We see clearly that Paul understood that once he was a chosen vessel, once he was called of God and chosen for that purpose, he passionately pursued God's righteousness with all his heart. He was able to set aside his pride, his self-worth to do his bidding.

What about you? What about me?

It is our pride that limits God. It limits God to use us for His purpose. It limits you from being able to strengthen your brethren, to lift them up; because when we want to do things our way, it is the pride in us that prevents us from admitting that we are wrong.

I Timothy 6:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Brethren, we must endeavor earnestly to grow in love and peace; strive to be gentle; strive to be patient with everyone; that is our humble service to God. If you want to be a vessel of honor to God, you must focus on your heart. You must examine your conduct. Does it reflect the character of Jesus Christ? If it does not, we need to repent and ask God to help you to grow, so you may bring glory to His name.

I was going to quote Clyde Finklea, in how he talks about I Corinthians 13; as a reminder, put your name wherever it says “love,” and then build on it, referring to the very same thing. So, I am not going to go through it at all. It is been covered very nicely.

What Paul is expounding here is that we must change our hearts, our minds on how we look at ourselves in our role in the church of God.

In conclusion: Remember that our perspective is limited. We cannot see the whole picture; that God knows what He is doing; God does not make mistakes. Saul, who became one of the greatest apostles, at one time hated the church. But he felt that once God opened his eyes, he was not even worthy to be an apostle.

And we learned through Ananias that even small acts of obedience can play a huge role in God's plan, even when we do not understand it. Do not allow circumstances, or our human limitations hinder you from stepping forward in faith.

Please know that God will never put more on you than you can bear. And why? Because He loves you, and He is patient with you. We know that God seems to work through weakness. We see that; here we stand. But do not ever think your witness and your service is not important to God, because it is the way we conduct our lives with our families, our coworkers, our friends.

God always chooses the proper instrument to accomplish His work in the lives of His people. Maybe His choices are strange. Are they proper? But we do not always see the whole picture. You may question at times, “Why did God choose me with all my failures, and inabilities?” But He does.

We have to do our part to pursue righteousness, to pursue peace, love, and gentleness. That is how you are going to be an instrument in God's hands.

For a final verse,

I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

TEB/rwu/drm