We Need Each Other
04/18/10
Acts 9:1-19
Pastor Greg Smith
The Church world-wide is having a difficult time right now.
There are scandals over abuse.
There is division over politics.
So, today I want to say, I believe in the church. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the church.
• Of course, by "the church" I don't mean just an institution. And surely not a denomination.
• And, though we often call this building, "the church," the church I'm talking about is not a building.
• Instead, the church is the community of those who believe in Jesus. These are committed believers.
The Valley Grace Purpose Statement sums up the kind of church I believe in:
• I believe in the Church that exists to:
• PROCLAIM the Good News of Jesus Christ,
• PRESENT opportunities for Christian growth,
• PROVIDE loving support,
• PREPARE members to serve others, and
• PRAISE God through worship.
Today I want us to think about the importance of the church. We need the church! Let’s look at the scripture today, one of the most important stories in the Bible, the story of how Paul became to believe in Jesus.
Paul learned several great truths about the church through this experience that I want to lift up to you this morning.
First, Jesus really was sent by God. If you want to know the God of Israel, get to know Jesus.
Look at Acts 9 starting with verse 1.
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
At first, Paul didn’t think that Jesus had anything to do with the God of Israel. In 2 Corinthians 5:16, Paul writes that he once judged Christ by “human standards,” that is, “from a worldly point of view.” Paul had been sure that those “who belonged to the Way” were wrong about Jesus. It was impossible, he thought, that the Messiah die. And it impossible God's Messiah to die by crucifixion. And that God would raise this crucified Messiah from the dead— forever putting God's stamp of approval in on him— that was unthinkable! That's why it had become Paul's mission to stamp out this movement that taught, as he thought, blasphemy. That’s why Paul was on the road to the city of Damascus leading a kind of "vigilante posse" out to round up believers in Messiah Jesus.
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Can you imagine Paul’s total shock? The one who meets Paul on the road, is the same Jesus who was crucified on the cross! And this Jesus really was alive— resurrected from the dead! The unthinkable was indeed the truth!
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
My guess is that during those three days, Paul did a lot of rethinking of both his life, and his understanding of the the Bible's message. At the moment Paul heard the words, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” his understanding of Bible's teaching came to a crash. Now Isaiah 53 took on an entirely different meaning— it was all about Jesus! Here is Isaiah 53:4-5 in the Good News Bible.
4 “But he endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent by God. 5 But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received."
From then on Paul's understanding of God and of salvation was transformed. Our salvation is not accomplished, as he thought up to this point in his life, through obedience to the law. The boundaries of God's people aren't set by obedience to the First Testament Law. Instead, our salvation has been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah!
Secondly, you can’t have Jesus without the church.
I want you to notice something astonishing in Jesus' words to Paul. Look at Acts 9 verse 4.
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
When Jesus calls out to Paul he does not say, “Why are you persecuting those who believe in me?” Instead he says, “Why do you persecute me?” Messiah Jesus suffered with Paul’s persecution of believers. Jesus still suffers when his church suffers.
Remember Jesus’ words in his great parable of the final judgement in Matthew 25,
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
One of the most memorable descriptions of the church in the New Testament is as the body of Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:27,
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
When the Bible tells us that the church is the body of Christ, it’s more than just a figure of speech or a helpful illustration. It's saying that there is an intimate connection: we are in Christ and Christ is in us.
• That means that when you care for another Christian you are caring for Christ.
• And it means that when you harm another Christian you are harming Christ.
• It means that you never suffer alone! Christ suffers with you. And when you are filled with joy, Christ rejoices with you!
So, what was the first two things Paul learned when he met Christ on the road to Damascus?
• Jesus really was sent by God. If you want to know the God of Israel, get to know Jesus.
• You can’t have Jesus without the church.
The boundaries of the church—who is in, who is out—are defined by God's loving invitation, not by rules and laws.
The way Paul met Jesus emphasizes this. 1 Corinthians 15 beginning with verse 3.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
Paul would have been voted “least likely to become a Christian” by his high school graduating class. You probably remember how Paul described his background in Philippians 3 (I'm using the Good News Bible).
5 I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee, 6 and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.
No one was more sincere, more zealous, and more religious than Paul. But as he discovered, a person can be sincerely wrong. Jesus had to stop Paul in his tracks and totally turn him around.
7 But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ’s sake. 8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.
Paul learned that Christ came to save not just good people, but all people. He came to save sinful people like you and me. Like Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15-16.
5 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them, 16 but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life.
I believe in the church! I believe in the church that God has gathered together out of his grace and mercy. That’s why I like to think of the church as a hospital for saving lives. And don’t assume too soon that you are a doctor in this hospital instead of a patient! We are all patients; Jesus is the only doctor. Jesus is the physician for those who know their need for healing. What kind of hospital would it be that when someone said they are sick everyone ran in fear and disgust? Jesus’ words from Matthew 7:1-2 apply.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
So, Paul learned that you can’t have Jesus without the church. And Paul learned that you become part of the church by God's gracious invitation alone.
One more thing: Paul learned that no one becomes a Christian on their own.
Look at the story again. Meeting Jesus had quite an impact on Paul. Look at Acts 9 verse 8.
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
This, finally, is where Ananias comes into the story. What a courageous and obedient person Ananias was! Look at verses 10-12.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
Ananias argued with the Lord because he had heard some disturbing things about this Saul character.
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But he finally accepted the challenge and went as he was told.
15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Even though Paul would have a wonderful future in God’s service, he had to begin his Christian life with the touch and prayer of a simple fellow believer. Paul came to know the Lord on the road to Damascus, but his new relationship would be incomplete without the fellowship of the church. The Lord gave Ananias the job of being “church” to Paul.
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord — Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
What did Ananias do for Paul? "Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul.'" That must have been a powerful moment. Ananias was a man of great courage!
• Who has been an “Ananias” in your life, introducing you to Christian community?
• To whom does the Lord want you to be an Ananias?
• When have you, like Ananias, obeyed God even when you have had doubts?
Ananias called Paul brother. Then touched him, he prayed for the Holy Spirit and for healing, and he baptized Paul.
How about an Internet church?
• With today’s multi-media computers you could still be entertained by the great music and drama. Tired of the pastor's sermon? Do a quick search for something more entertaining,
• You wouldn’t have to get dressed in Sunday morning. You could stay safely at home, anonymous. Wouldn’t even need to know your home address, just your e-mail address, or Facebook page.
What would be missing is the touch of real people. You can’t become or be a Christian alone.
• You can’t baptize yourself; it’s through the prayerful touch of another.
• In the New Testament we see again and again that people are healed through the hands-on prayer of one believer praying for another. James 5:16 says,
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The church is a means of grace. Sisters and brothers are the instruments that God uses to make us his own and grow in his grace.
• Paul needed to be healed.
• Paul needed to be baptized.
• Paul needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit and it came at the hands and through the prayers of another believer.
• God is able to do otherwise, of course. But God chooses to work through the healing prayers and hands of others.
One reason we may neglect prayer because we don’t take the importance of the church seriously. When you pray, God takes you seriously. So you need to do the same. God chooses to channel his mercy and grace through relationships.
I believe in the church! It’s humbling, I know. I can’t be self-reliant. I need my sisters and brothers. I need you to pray for me and I need to be praying for you.
Pastor Greg Smith
The Church world-wide is having a difficult time right now.
There are scandals over abuse.
There is division over politics.
So, today I want to say, I believe in the church. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the church.
• Of course, by "the church" I don't mean just an institution. And surely not a denomination.
• And, though we often call this building, "the church," the church I'm talking about is not a building.
• Instead, the church is the community of those who believe in Jesus. These are committed believers.
The Valley Grace Purpose Statement sums up the kind of church I believe in:
• I believe in the Church that exists to:
• PROCLAIM the Good News of Jesus Christ,
• PRESENT opportunities for Christian growth,
• PROVIDE loving support,
• PREPARE members to serve others, and
• PRAISE God through worship.
Today I want us to think about the importance of the church. We need the church! Let’s look at the scripture today, one of the most important stories in the Bible, the story of how Paul became to believe in Jesus.
Paul learned several great truths about the church through this experience that I want to lift up to you this morning.
First, Jesus really was sent by God. If you want to know the God of Israel, get to know Jesus.
Look at Acts 9 starting with verse 1.
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
At first, Paul didn’t think that Jesus had anything to do with the God of Israel. In 2 Corinthians 5:16, Paul writes that he once judged Christ by “human standards,” that is, “from a worldly point of view.” Paul had been sure that those “who belonged to the Way” were wrong about Jesus. It was impossible, he thought, that the Messiah die. And it impossible God's Messiah to die by crucifixion. And that God would raise this crucified Messiah from the dead— forever putting God's stamp of approval in on him— that was unthinkable! That's why it had become Paul's mission to stamp out this movement that taught, as he thought, blasphemy. That’s why Paul was on the road to the city of Damascus leading a kind of "vigilante posse" out to round up believers in Messiah Jesus.
3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Can you imagine Paul’s total shock? The one who meets Paul on the road, is the same Jesus who was crucified on the cross! And this Jesus really was alive— resurrected from the dead! The unthinkable was indeed the truth!
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
My guess is that during those three days, Paul did a lot of rethinking of both his life, and his understanding of the the Bible's message. At the moment Paul heard the words, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” his understanding of Bible's teaching came to a crash. Now Isaiah 53 took on an entirely different meaning— it was all about Jesus! Here is Isaiah 53:4-5 in the Good News Bible.
4 “But he endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent by God. 5 But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received."
From then on Paul's understanding of God and of salvation was transformed. Our salvation is not accomplished, as he thought up to this point in his life, through obedience to the law. The boundaries of God's people aren't set by obedience to the First Testament Law. Instead, our salvation has been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah!
Secondly, you can’t have Jesus without the church.
I want you to notice something astonishing in Jesus' words to Paul. Look at Acts 9 verse 4.
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
When Jesus calls out to Paul he does not say, “Why are you persecuting those who believe in me?” Instead he says, “Why do you persecute me?” Messiah Jesus suffered with Paul’s persecution of believers. Jesus still suffers when his church suffers.
Remember Jesus’ words in his great parable of the final judgement in Matthew 25,
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
One of the most memorable descriptions of the church in the New Testament is as the body of Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:27,
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
When the Bible tells us that the church is the body of Christ, it’s more than just a figure of speech or a helpful illustration. It's saying that there is an intimate connection: we are in Christ and Christ is in us.
• That means that when you care for another Christian you are caring for Christ.
• And it means that when you harm another Christian you are harming Christ.
• It means that you never suffer alone! Christ suffers with you. And when you are filled with joy, Christ rejoices with you!
So, what was the first two things Paul learned when he met Christ on the road to Damascus?
• Jesus really was sent by God. If you want to know the God of Israel, get to know Jesus.
• You can’t have Jesus without the church.
The boundaries of the church—who is in, who is out—are defined by God's loving invitation, not by rules and laws.
The way Paul met Jesus emphasizes this. 1 Corinthians 15 beginning with verse 3.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
Paul would have been voted “least likely to become a Christian” by his high school graduating class. You probably remember how Paul described his background in Philippians 3 (I'm using the Good News Bible).
5 I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee, 6 and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.
No one was more sincere, more zealous, and more religious than Paul. But as he discovered, a person can be sincerely wrong. Jesus had to stop Paul in his tracks and totally turn him around.
7 But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ’s sake. 8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.
Paul learned that Christ came to save not just good people, but all people. He came to save sinful people like you and me. Like Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15-16.
5 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them, 16 but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life.
I believe in the church! I believe in the church that God has gathered together out of his grace and mercy. That’s why I like to think of the church as a hospital for saving lives. And don’t assume too soon that you are a doctor in this hospital instead of a patient! We are all patients; Jesus is the only doctor. Jesus is the physician for those who know their need for healing. What kind of hospital would it be that when someone said they are sick everyone ran in fear and disgust? Jesus’ words from Matthew 7:1-2 apply.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
So, Paul learned that you can’t have Jesus without the church. And Paul learned that you become part of the church by God's gracious invitation alone.
One more thing: Paul learned that no one becomes a Christian on their own.
Look at the story again. Meeting Jesus had quite an impact on Paul. Look at Acts 9 verse 8.
8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
This, finally, is where Ananias comes into the story. What a courageous and obedient person Ananias was! Look at verses 10-12.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
Ananias argued with the Lord because he had heard some disturbing things about this Saul character.
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But he finally accepted the challenge and went as he was told.
15 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. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Even though Paul would have a wonderful future in God’s service, he had to begin his Christian life with the touch and prayer of a simple fellow believer. Paul came to know the Lord on the road to Damascus, but his new relationship would be incomplete without the fellowship of the church. The Lord gave Ananias the job of being “church” to Paul.
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord — Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
What did Ananias do for Paul? "Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul.'" That must have been a powerful moment. Ananias was a man of great courage!
• Who has been an “Ananias” in your life, introducing you to Christian community?
• To whom does the Lord want you to be an Ananias?
• When have you, like Ananias, obeyed God even when you have had doubts?
Ananias called Paul brother. Then touched him, he prayed for the Holy Spirit and for healing, and he baptized Paul.
How about an Internet church?
• With today’s multi-media computers you could still be entertained by the great music and drama. Tired of the pastor's sermon? Do a quick search for something more entertaining,
• You wouldn’t have to get dressed in Sunday morning. You could stay safely at home, anonymous. Wouldn’t even need to know your home address, just your e-mail address, or Facebook page.
What would be missing is the touch of real people. You can’t become or be a Christian alone.
• You can’t baptize yourself; it’s through the prayerful touch of another.
• In the New Testament we see again and again that people are healed through the hands-on prayer of one believer praying for another. James 5:16 says,
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The church is a means of grace. Sisters and brothers are the instruments that God uses to make us his own and grow in his grace.
• Paul needed to be healed.
• Paul needed to be baptized.
• Paul needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit and it came at the hands and through the prayers of another believer.
• God is able to do otherwise, of course. But God chooses to work through the healing prayers and hands of others.
One reason we may neglect prayer because we don’t take the importance of the church seriously. When you pray, God takes you seriously. So you need to do the same. God chooses to channel his mercy and grace through relationships.
I believe in the church! It’s humbling, I know. I can’t be self-reliant. I need my sisters and brothers. I need you to pray for me and I need to be praying for you.