Building
the right foundation part 18
Acts 9:23-26 “Saul in exile.”
When
many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
but their plot became known to Saul. They
were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,
but his disciples took him by night and let
him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the
disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe
that he was a disciple.
English
Standard Version Anglicised
****************
From
a straightforward reading of this passage we might conclude that Saul
immediately after his conversion was not only immediately began to
preach the gospel of Jesus but that he went immediately to Jerusalem
where he was met with great fear, suspicion and doubt by the church.
The
problem is that the actual time-scale is much greater. There are at
least 17 years between verse 23 and verse 26. We cannot deduce this
from Luke's account but Paul later explains more fully in his letter
to the Galatians.
Galatians
1:11-2:1
For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was
preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any
man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of
Jesus Christ.
For you have heard of my former life in
Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to
destroy it.
And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many
of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the
traditions of my fathers.
But when he who had set me apart before I
was born, and who called me by his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in
order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not
immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to
those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and
returned again to Damascus.
Then
after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained
with him for fifteen days.
But I saw none of the other apostles except
James the Lord's brother.
(In what I am writing to you, before God, I
do not lie!)
Then I went into the regions of Syria and
Cilicia.
And I was still unknown in person to the
churches of Judea that are in Christ.
They only were hearing it said, “He who
used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to
destroy.”
And they glorified God because of me. Then
after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along with me.
Today
we will simply observe from this account that God's purposes are not
always immediate. Even the great Apostle Paul experienced many years
in isolation before he was fully accepted by the church. God's timing
is not always our timing, His delays are for a purpose.
Last
time we considered Saul being accepted by the fellowship in Damascus.
In doing this they were displaying their trust not only in Saul who
was changed but also in God who changes even the worst of people.
It
seems that very soon after his conversion Saul was contending for the
faith in and around the synagogues of Damascus. This of course
brought about amazement and confusion amongst his hearers. The result
of which was that Saul became a powerful preacher. Many days having
passed by and the Jews were conspiring to kill him. There is no
surprise in this, the preached gospel will always be met with
opposition. If we think for one moment that when we preach the gospel
in our community that it will be met with acceptance then we are
delusional. Saul's life was under threat as soon as he was preaching
Jesus and so his friends helped him to escape his persecutors.
According
to his own testimony Saul went to Arabia and later he returned to
Damascus. After 3 years he then went to Jerusalem and met with Peter
and James the brother of Jesus. He was there for 15 days when he
tried to join the church but Peter and James were afraid of him and
did not believe his testimony. Therefore Saul left and went to Syria
and Cilicia where the churches did not know him personally but they
were aware of his reputation. These churches believed Saul's
testimony and accepted him and praised God for the work of salvation
in a converted young radicalised man. It was a further 14 years
before verse 27 takes place.
There
is so much for us in this passage and we have so little time this
morning therefore we will concentrate on one vital point that comes
from our readings:
God
is patient:
We
live in a credit card generation where time is all important. When
Pam and I were recently in India and also previously in Romania we
were often frustrated by the desperate lack of punctuality. Cornwall
itself can be a frustrating place to be with its “ 'ish” timing.
I am not used to “dreckly” and all of that! But procrastination,
laziness or a lack of commitment are very different to what we have
here in Saul's experience. This amazingly long period of apparent
activity was for an important purpose.
Let
us just consider for a moment Saul himself, he was a very clever and
powerful young man who was rapidly heading for the top. He was
formerly a theologian of great understanding but yet he did not know
God.
He
knew of God but he did not know Him.
He
had had an amazing experience on the road to Damascus and now he
needed to learn how all of his theology fitted in with the reality
that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Saul was also a very proud young
man that needed to be humbled in order that he could be the Apostle
that God had called him to be. As well as this he really needed to
get to know his Lord personally and intimately and relationship takes
time. When you read his letters you will observe how this period of
time shaped his theology, his thinking and his relationship with the
Lord and with His church.
17
years is a long time but not a day of it was wasted; by the end of
those years the great Apostle Paul emerged and then he was finally
accepted by the whole church.
Let
us go back for a moment to the great commission of Jesus where He
instructed His disciples to make disciples of others. That is exactly
what was happening to Saul during those years; the church in Damascus
was a vital part in Saul becoming a true disciple of Jesus.
The
Lord accomplished the work of salvation but the church made the
disciple.
I
love the fact that the church in Damascus saved Saul's life when they
let him out of the city in a basket. An amazing work for a small and
seemingly insignificant church. It was also the un-named churches in
Asia and Cilicia that accepted him and praised God for him whilst at
the same time the big church rejected him out of fear.
This
passage is for us this morning in the Mustard Seed. We are only a
very small and insignificant church here in East Cornwall but:
God
has a purpose for us!
We
are not useless! It is true to say that we have gone through major
difficulties and that we are still struggling with issues but we
do have a purpose.
God has brought us to where we are today in order that we might be
about the business of making disciples. We never know who it is that
comes through our doors, do we accept them in the way that the
churches in Damascus, Asia and Cilicia did with Saul? Or will we be
like the church in Jerusalem with the great preachers who were afraid
and unbelieving that Saul was now really God's man. They knew the
rumour just as did the other churches that Saul had been converted
but they did not believe it. I am glad that this is the case because
it is one of the most encouraging passages of the New Testament for
the small church.
We
can do great things for God even though we are small!
Do
we believe that? Those faithful small fellowships in Damascus, Asia
and Syria were instrumental in Saul's development as a Christian
preacher, teacher, pastor and apostle. What a great work that God had
entrusted to a bunch of small insignificant churches!
What
is it that we are called to do?
Will
we be faithful in whatever it is that God has called us to do?
Time
to God is unimportant, but our being prepared for service is vital!
Being
prepared takes time, we are currently being prepared for service, let
us move forward but only in God's timing!
What
to some seems to be inactivity is in reality God working in our
hearts and lives and Him making us to be the church that we will be.
This
is primarily a message to the church but it equally works out in our
individual lives therefore each point must also be true of each one
of us.
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