God’s Orchestration

Acts 11:12a (ESV) – And the Spirit told me to go

Sometimes God speaks to more than one person in more than one way to coordinate and confirm what he wants his people to do. Acts Chapters 10 and 11 describe one of those occasions twice. It leads to the salvation and Holy Spirit-filling of a Roman Centurion and his friends and becomes the evidence that God accepts Gentiles (non-Jewish people) without first obeying the outer works of the Old Testament Law.

1. An angel visited and spoke to Cornelius with specific instructions to send for Peter (Acts 10:3-6; 11:13-14). 
2. Peter became entranced, saw a vision, and heard an unnamed voice. The vision and initial instructions gave freedom to eat previously banned food but seemed to not directly address the issue of Gentiles. However, the final command, “What God has cleansed no longer consider unholy,” encompassed the food and the people and verified that God accepts all (Acts 10:10-16; 11:5-10).  
3. The Holy Spirit spoke to Peter and gave specific instructions to go with the men Cornelius sent (10:19-20; 11:12). 
4. The Gentiles present believed the message and were filled with the Holy Spirit with the physical evidence of speaking in languages they had not learned (10:44-46; 11:15).

Many of us who make Jesus our Lord are eager to do what he wants us to do and relish when we have such clear guidance from God but note how this incident is portrayed as exceptional rather than common. Yet, the message was critical to the early church and was initially misinterpreted by those not present. Each piece on its own might have been cause to question if God was really speaking, but the confirmation by all four incidents made it clear that God was in this. In fact, not only did this convince Peter and his friends in chapter 10 and the first group of skeptical Christian Jews in chapter 11, it was again key evidence several years later at the critical Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15.

Even today, God often confirms his direction for us both through other people and in otherwise explicable circumstances. (I Corinthians 14:29) This has happened many times in my own life. I share some of these in Making Big Decisions Wisely. Sometimes we can confuse our selfish personal desires with what we want to be God’s voice. Other times those claiming to speak for God to us may have ulterior motives. Yet, when several sources and incidents align in inexplicable ways, God’s confirmation brings clarity and confidence this is his message.

Let’s be open to God’s direction and let’s look for his confirmation that it is truly his direction.

Be an Advocate

Acts 9:26-27 (ESV) – They were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

The Christians in Jerusalem had reason to not trust Saul (later and better known as Paul). He had fully endorsed the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 7:58). He had authority from the Jewish priests to imprison anyone claiming to be a Christian (Acts 9:2, 22:4). He made it his mission to do everything he could to destroy the young Christian church (Acts 26:9-11). He could have pretended to have had a miraculous conversion just to be able to infiltrate the Christian community to learn the hiding places and discover who all the Christians were. He could have led the total destruction of the fledgling church in its home city. Christianity might have been completely eradicated if this happened. It was no surprise the Jerusalem believers were afraid of this Saul.

Everything changed one day, though, because of the actions of one brave Christian, with the well-deserved nickname of Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). Barnabas was not one of the twelve disciples who walked closely with Jesus in Galilee, but he had experienced a life changing encounter with Jesus. He had made a noteworthy financial contribution to the early church (Acts 4:37).  

Barnabas understood what was happening but he also understood that what Paul had experienced was real. Barnabas must have also seen what God would be able to do through this gifted young man, so, not for the last time (Acts 11:26), Barnabas found Paul, took him to the Jerusalem Christians, spoke on Paul’s behalf, and opened the door for Paul’s acceptance and the credibility to take his ministry to another level.

The Christians knew and trusted Barnabas, and Barnabas knew and trusted Paul. He became the bridge for a vital relationship. Has there been someone in your life whose speaking well of you to others opened doors of opportunity for you? Have you ever come to trust someone you had not previously met because of an endorsement or recommendation from someone you did know? Relational trust carries more weight for most people than the most elaborate resume. Even in our age of advanced technology, networking is more important now than ever.

Who will you advocate? What relationships can you help form that can lay the foundation for great achievements? Intentionally be aware of people you know who can benefit one another through yet unseen relationships. You can be the one to make that connection. You can be a son or daughter of encouragement.

Decisive Action

Acts 9:123-25 (ESV) – 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.

Acts 9 opens with Paul (then Saul) meeting Jesus in a supernatural encounter. The narrative then moves to Ananias’s vision of Jesus to restore Paul’s sight and give him the rest of his mission. With a start like this, we might expect everything in Paul’s ministry from this point forward to be similarly supernatural, yet he had not even left Damascus before he met his first crisis without clear divine guidance. The Jewish leaders in town did not like how he persuasively preached Jesus as the Son of God. They laid a plot to capture Paul and destroy him.

Notice that the Bible does not say Paul had a supernatural vision or prophecy that let him know about this. God could have destroyed those lying in wait, perhaps with a lightning bolt, but that did not happen. The text does not even show specific divine direction in how Paul and the rest of the Christians chose to act. It seems they just knew they had a crisis that required immediate action, they looked at what they had available (a basket big enough to hold Paul), and decided on a plan to get Paul free. Dropping him over the city wall away from the guarded gate at night meant the guards who sought his life would not be able to see him. The plan worked and freed Paul to continue his ministry.

Crises usually require decisive action. Leaders often emerge in these times by recognizing the situations, the cost of doing nothing, and the opportunities that a good decision can bring. Paul’s solution required cooperation from the rest of the Christians. Perhaps they brainstormed the idea. They certainly worked together to drop Paul in his basket.

Don’t let a crisis paralyze you in indecision. Certainly, be open to divine guidance, but be ready to make the best decision you can with what you have available and don’t hesitate to invite some people to help you decide and make your decision a reality.

The Cure for the Worst Pandemic in History

Romans 5:12 (NRSV) – Sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.

None of us has ever experienced anything like this COVID-19 Pandemic. It has infected people of every nation on earth. It has brought the economies of the world to a standstill. Many of us have loved ones and friends who have had the virus. Many of those have died.

Yet, as bad as is it and though we do not yet know the final tally, no expert predicts we will see the more than fifty million global deaths the Spanish Flu brought just over a century ago. Even that pandemic’s toll was outdone by the plague known as the Black Death, which likely killed 30-60% of Europe’s population and perhaps as much as 25% of the population of the world in its seven year run from 1346-1353. We can thank God technological advances, medical researchers, and those on the front lines of treatment are making sure we do not see something like that again.

Yet, there is an even worse pandemic that has plagued the world since long before the Black Death. It has infected every human life. Much like how many researchers now believe the coronavirus COVID-19 made a jump from the bat population to humanity by one person’s choice to eat a live bat as part of a ritual, Romans 5:12 tells us sin entered the human race because of one person’s choice. The difference, though, is that, although it is very contagious and deadly, the coronavirus does not infect everyone in range of transmission and less than 25% of those with the virus in most regions die. The verse we read says the pandemic of sin is 100% contagious and 100% deadly: “Death spread to all because all have sinned.”

The evidence for this reality is everywhere: crime, violence, abuse, lying, selfishness. We may want to say, “Nobody’s perfect,” but that is exactly the evidential proof of the universality of sin. None of us is perfect, yet the ultimate outcome of this virus of sin is death. We may be tempted to blame the first one to bring this to humanity, but, as Paul said, “All have sinned.” We are all guilty and helpless on our own to overcome both the pandemic and its effect. (Romans 5:6)

The good news is that there is a cure. “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17, NIV). 

Today, Good Friday, we celebrate that cure being enacted as the only perfect human in history – perfect because he was fully God and fully man and without sin (Hebrews 4:15) – offered himself in our place. He died so we would not have to die eternally. He rose from the dead on the first Easter to show and prove that he truly conquered death.

This Easter, we earnestly pray those seeking a cure for the coronavirus find it quickly. We pray that those healthcare professionals working the front lines stay healthy, and we do pray those with the virus recover. Yet, we can be truly grateful the cure for the worst pandemic history is available to all who receive it. If you have not yet received that gift of God’s grace Jesus Christ has made available to us, I urge you to receive it today and join believers around the world in celebrating his resurrection this Sunday, even if we do it remotely. Christ is risen!

Visions for Others

Acts 9:10-12 (ESV) – Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.'

We committed Christ-followers often want to hear a message from God for ourselves. It is good to want to do what God wants you to do. Yet, the Bible is filled with accounts of people who did not hear from God for themselves but for other people, instead. I believe God has intentionally created an interdependence among his people. The question is if I am willing to play my part even if it is not ultimately about me.

The story of Ananias is a great example of this. At the beginning of Acts Chapter Nine, Saul (later called Paul) was a hater of the church on his way to Damascus to throw Christians into prison. Jesus encountered him in a dramatic way and told him to go to the city where he would be told what to do. (Acts 9:6) Jesus could have told him everything he needed to know then. He certainly had Paul’s attention, but, instead, Jesus chose to use someone else: Ananias.

         1)   A summons from Jesus has one right answer

Jesus called Ananias by name as he did with many others throughout the Bible. Ananias responded like many of them with the right answer: “Here I am” (translated, “Here am I,” in the King James Bible.) These words indicate a total commitment to do whatever God called him to do. Are you ready to say, “Here I am,” if God wants to use you to speak to others?

          2)   Sharing has risk but it is much less than not sharing

Ananias had heard about Paul’s violence against Christians. He had reason to be afraid. You may be afraid to share God’s message with others because you will not know how they respond, but, like Paul, they may not hear everything God wants them to know or experience all the good God has for them if you do not. Ananias was able to share the mission God had for Paul but God also used Ananias’ hands to bring sight back to Paul and fill him with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 9:13-18)

          3)   Those to whom you share may have far more influence than you

We never see this Ananias mentioned again in the Bible, yet the Saul he spoke to on God’s behalf went on to write nearly half of the books of the New Testament, plant churches throughout the eastern half of the Roman Empire, and lay the theological and practical foundations of the church we still follow today. Your obedience to share God’s message with others may not bring you fame, but you could be a part of helping them having a huge impact for eternity. Be ready for God to use you.